Lost Uzumaki
by Xeziel15
Summary: Follow the life and story of sound nin Tayuya. From her birth, to her meeting with Orochimaru, and then her final mission to get Sasuke Uchiha.
1. Prolouge

**Prologue**

The night sky was a beautiful sight, filled with countless twinkling stars. Its feeble light spreads throughout the snow covered forest floor, giving it a somber appearance. Hidden within the trees was a small two floor house. It's framed with a door and five windows, two on the side, one on the back, and last two at the second floor. Light can be seen on the top left window. Beside the house was a frozen river that stretched far beyond the empty plains to a bustling town nearby. Across the river sat a hill overlooking the small town. At the top stood a single tree, resting on it was a man. Dark red hair framed his young face that went past his shoulders. He wore dark baggy pants with matching boots and a thick blue jacket on top of a tan colored sweater. A headband imbedded with a spiral pattern and a crystal necklace was tied on his neck. If one were to look at this young man, you would clearly see the anxiety evident on his features, concern with a mix of impatience, fear and a look of hopelessness that said 'what am I going to do'.

He breathes a sigh, and tried to calm his jittering mind. His thoughts ventured to the small house where a woman laid in a small bed, giving birth to his child.

He sighed again. He wanted to be there with her. He wanted to comfort her, to hold her hand, to kiss away her pain, but he was too shaken by her screams. His breathing was heavy; he fidgeted around and was at a loss for words of comfort. He was panicking and that did no help at all. Seeing her husband acting so out of character, made the young woman feel very afraid, and it only made her stressed even more. The midwife seeing the discomfort of the girl, told the young man that if he wants to be of some use, he should just wait outside and try to calm his nerves down, so that girl could concentrate on giving birth instead of worrying about him.

And here he was, sitting on a tree and trying very hard to calm himself. It has been fourteen hours now and still no sign of it ending.

He sighed again for the millionth time and got up. 'I need to be there for her. I need to to be there to comfort her... I need to be there when she gives birth to our child.' Looking one last time at the beautiful night sky, he sighed and went to where his wife was.

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Pain. It's all that seems to register in her mind. The loss of the warmth of her husband only made her more agitated. She wanted him beside her when their child finally comes out. She was annoyed that the midwife sent him away, but was somewhat grateful for it. She didn't like the look that her husband gave her. He was afraid. He wasn't a person like that. He was very strong and very brave. He wouldn't let anyone stand and tried to hurt her. He would protect her no matter what. He wasn't afraid how strong his opponent maybe. He would crush them. He was strong, really strong, and he wasn't afraid of anything except now. He was always there for her. That's why she's upset that he's not here, yet it unnerved her to see his frightened face.

She was banished from her thoughts as she screamed in pain as another wave of contraction hit her hard. "Almost there. Keeping pushing. I can see its head now." said the midwife. The young woman closed her eyes, breathing heavily as she heard the older woman say, "Now again. One, two, three. Push!" She screamed from the top of her lungs, fingers clutching the sheets tighter. Panting from the stress of the work, she lay there breathing like there's no tomorrow as she got ready for another wave to come.

She really wished he was here...

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He can hear her scream from outside the house. He quickly got inside and followed the sound of her voice only to stop in front of the door where from the other side, his beloved lies in pain. He closed his eyes and steeled himself as he forced his trembling hands to open the door.

There she was. Clearly she was downright exhausted. As he walked in the dimly lit room, her tired cerulean blue orbs rested upon his dark chocolate brown ones. The moment their eyes met, her blue orbs lit up, and a smile adorned her beautiful face. The smile that always seems to pierce his very soul. Seeing that smile on her face, immediately washed all his fears and troubles away. He quickly sat beside her. Her fingers automatically finding his, as their clasped hands sent strong waves of emotion of comfort, joy, and love.

"Kazuki." her voice broke away with joy as tears started to form in her eyes.

"Shhhh... It's alright Kotome. I'm here. I'll be always here." Kazuki soothed.

She tightened her hand within his grasp. She screamed as another wave of pain engulfed her. He stroked her long luscious crimson red locks and kissed her forehead as comfort that told her, 'He's here with her all the way.'

"Almost there." The midwife said, "Get ready. Okay, one, two, three. Push!" She pushed again, praying hard for her child to please come out. She sagged on the bed, panting very hard. "One last time child. Give it all you've got... One, two, three. Push!" She pushed with all her might, clutching her husband's hand to give her enough strength. Enough strength to get her child out of her and into her loving arms.

A shrill cry woke her from her thoughts as she slumped to the bed. All her strength drained away. The cry still echoing throughout the walls. The cry of her new born baby.

"Congratulations. It's girl." The midwife set the baby girl within the mother's embrace.

Kotome tiredly looked at her child. The child she and Kazuki made together. She had small tufts of red hair protruded on top of her head, long eyelashes that complemented her thin red brows, Cute button nose, and lips so sturdy, yet so soft. Only one word described her perfectly. "She's so beautiful." She croaked, "So, so very beautiful." She touched her crying daughter's cheek. "It's okay. Mommy's here. You don't have to cry anymore because I'm here. I'll always be here." Her daughter's cry gently came to a stop as soon as her mother tried to soothe her to sleep.

Kazuki looked at the mother and daughter. Both were his and he to them. 'Kazuki, Kotome, and...' He stopped. 'Oh yeah, our daughter's name... What's our daughter's name?' "What are we gonna name her?" He asked, still stroking his wife's hair.

"I have no idea." She chuckled and looked again at her beautiful daughter. "She's so beautiful. Reminds me of Tanami and Kushiyuya."

"My sister and your mother?" He contemplated on what name would be perfect for their beautiful daughter.

"How about Kushinami? It's a combination of their names." He thought about the suggested name, but shook his head. The name just didn't feel right. And then it clicked to him

"Tayuya"

"Huh?"

"How about the name Tayuya?"

'Ta-yu-ya... Hmmm... Tayuya...' A smile formed her face. "Well... It definitely fits her so much better than Kushinami."

He smiled at that. "Our beautiful baby girl, Tayuya."

She closed her tired eyes. "Tayuya... Tayuya Uzumaki."

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Heavy rain poured down the valley. Thick clouds of mists surrounded the nearby town, the empty plains, the forest and the surrounding mountains beyond. Loud thunderous sound covered the whole valley.

Throughout the chaos outside, a lovely voice can be heard inside the top left window of a small two story house. Kotome can be seen singing a lullaby to a distraught little baby Tayuya. Hearing no more loud rumblings, little Tayuya closed her big light chocolate brown orbs, as her mother's soothing melody enticed her to a peaceful slumber. A loud thunderous crack tore through the sky. Eyes flung open, and a loud wail erupted the room.

"Yuya-chan, whatever am I gonna do to make you sleep?" Kotome softly asked. The question wasn't directed to her baby; rather it was a question to herself. She smiled as she got an idea. "Yuya-chan, do you want to hear mommy play you a song?" She got up; Tayuya cradled within her arms put the wailing baby on top of the bed. She fetched her mother's flute, which was now hers, inside a small drawer. 'It's been a long time since I played you. Will you please help me ease me Yuya-chan's pain?' She sat on the bed Indian style beside Tayuya. "I hope you like my music Yuya-chan. Sorry if I'm not that good. Mommy forgot to practice playing the flute."

She looked at the still wailing baby. She delicately held the flute with grace that can only be seen to a professional musician. Her soft pink lips lightly pressing against the cool metal. She took a deep breath and let the magical melody fill the room.

It started with a low tune, soft and mellow, like the morning of a green grass meadow. Warm light enveloped the clearing. The sweet soft chirping of birds echoed throughout the surrounding trees. In the middle of the grass lay a teenage girl. Bright crimson hair contrasted with cerulean blue eyes. She wore a khaki colored jacket and underneath was a dark green shirt. Khaki shorts that went a little above her knees, and a dark blue colored sandals. The girl suddenly sat up as familiar figures stood before her. A childish grin spreads across her young face. The feeling of joy radiated from the memory. The emotion weaving with the soft melody.

Her fingers suddenly picked up as the melody changed to a brighter tune. Children running happily down the streets. Adults sitting with plastered happy faces. The girl, from before stood a little way off. Adorned on her face was her usual grin. She waved at them, but they wouldn't respond. She ran towards them, but as she tried to get closer, they only seem to go away farther. She couldn't catch up. Her breathing became very shallow. She stopped and bent down to catch her breath. As she looked up, she could only stand back in horror.

The melody changed to faster tune. Dread accompanied the sound. There was fire everywhere. Blood was splattered all over the ground. The warm happy people from before were now cold lifeless bodies. Even with the light coming from the fire, darkness seems to fall over the scene. Dark evil red eyes appeared from the darkness. Slowly they crept to the trembling girl as tears started to stream down her face. She wanted to move and get away as far as possible, but her body wouldn't respond. They were getting closer now. Closer and closer. The darkness also coming in close. A crooked hand reaching up to her. It's cold blooded fingers just inches away from her face. And then...

Everything stopped.

Instead of feeling the icy cold fingers, she felt warm ones. She was broken from her memories by that firm touch. She looked beside her to see her loving husband's face.

"Kazuki." Her voice breaking as a single tear fell from her face. "I-"

"Shhhh… Kotome. Tayuya-chan's sleeping."

She looked at her sleeping baby girl. A peaceful smile decorated her face. 'At least one of us is happy.' She thought.

"Let's go downstairs." He held her hand as he led her to the living room. The walls were bare. There was nothing much except for a sofa, two chairs, a table and a couple of racks on the side. "Why did you play your flute?" He started.

"I- I was just playing it for Yuya-chan, Kazuki. It's no big deal." She looked away. "You don't have to worry about me. It was just-"

"Kotome..." His voice was firm yet loving and understanding. She looked up to see his pained face that made her heart stop. "I know that when you play your flute... You see images from the past, and you even feel the strong emotions that come with those particular images. I know how painful the past is. I also know that you suffered more than me. You were there, and you saw it. Saw everything that happened to them. To our clan. To our family. I was too late, and I couldn't save them. I was too powerless. For the future clan leader you would guess that I'd be powerful." He took a look of guilt and sorrow.

It broke her heart to see him like this. She knew he blamed himself. For not being there when it happened. For not being able to protect her from that scar. She held him close. Her arms wrapped around his neck as her head rested on the curve of his neck. He followed suite as he lifted his firm arms and wrapped it around her waist. "You know it wasn't your fault. We were young. Even the adults couldn't defeat them. They were too many, and we were only but a few."

"But-"

"Without you Kazuki, I would have surely died!" She tightened her grip on him. Tears streamed down her face. "So please stop blaming yourself. Stop beating yourself up for something that you didn't have control of."

"Kotome." They looked at each other. Teary blue orbs gazed up to sad brown ones. He wiped her tears and kissed both her eyes. Their faces now inches away from one another. Slowly, they closed the gap and sealed it with a deep kiss. It was filled with comfort, love, and forgiveness. "Okay."

"Hmmm."

"I forgive myself." She gave him her trademark smile. The smile that always seems to melt his heart away. He gave her a smile and pulled her closer. She rested her head on his chest. The smile never leaving her face.

"I was really just playing the flute for Yuya-chan."

"Huh?"

"Isn't that the one that we were supposed to talk about? Me playing the flute."

"Ah." He smiled sheepishly. "I guess we got carried away and talked about my own problems. So..."

She chuckled. "Yuya-chan couldn't sleep because of the thunder. The loud sound scared her. So I got an idea. When I was little, mother would play me a song from her flute to calm me whenever I was scared. When I hear her playing, I always felt safe. Nothing would go wrong, and the next thing I knew I was sleeping soundly beside her. I wanted Yuya-chan to feel safe. To feel what I felt when mother played for me. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course."

"She comes first. She's the future of what remains of our clan."

He frowned. "Speaking of the clan, it's been two months now since her birth. The clan secrets are hers to inherit."

"I know... It's just-" Her eyes getting teary again.

He hugged her tightly. "I know Kotome. I know."

"I don't want her to suffer the clan's burdens. I don't want her to live a life always running away and hiding from those who wish to capture or destroy her. I want her to live her own life. To live without fear of those who wish to use and those who fear our clan's jutsu. I don't-"

"Shhhh… Don't cry on me now. Okay." He looked her in the eye. "It's very important that our clan must not be forgotten. We cannot forget the sacrifices that our clan died protecting for."

"I understand." She spoke with a dejected voice.

"We'll seal our clan's secret within her body, and..." He smiled at her. "I'll also put another seal to hide the first seal and to also suppress her special chakra, so she wouldn't accidentally use her unique bloodline ability. Whatever it is. The only ones who know about this are you and I, plus we have the key to unlocking it. When she's old enough for the responsibility of our clan's jutsu, that's the time when we can give her the key to unlock it herself. So, you don't have to worry about her not growing up with a normal life. Okay." He kissed her and broke away only to find her crying again. "Kotome, please don't cry. Please."

She shook her head as she smiled at him. "These tears are not because I'm sad, but tears because I'm so very happy." She hugged him tightly. "Kazuki."

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

They both smiled as they embraced each other...

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They laid her in a small bed. Strange symbols covered her feeble body. The room was mostly bare except for the candles, the baby, and two figures. The two people were seen writing characters on the floor. It was a simple design. A circle formed by characters and symbols with a spiral design in the middle, is drawn where the object of sealing is placed. From the circle nine lines of character symbols were branched out. The Eight lines stopped by at the end, while the ninth connected with a smaller set of characters also formed into a circle. In the middle of the circle was a spiral design, lying on top of it was a sleeping Tayuya. It was a very simple sealing jutsu, but it was dangerous nonetheless. One wrong character will make everything a disaster. As they finished, they went to their respective positions. In front of them lay one big scroll. The scroll that contains the secrets of the Uzumaki clan.

"You know what to do right?" Asked Kazuki.

"Yeah. We seal the scroll inside her. When the time comes to close the seal, you'll start the other seal to make sure this seal will remain hidden, and also suppress Yuya-chan's special chakra, but retain her natural chakra, while I make sure to buy you some time to finish the suppressing seal, before closing the first seal." She smiled slyly. "Did I get everything right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Show off." He pouted then changed to a look of seriousness. "It all sounds simple with words, but doing it is way different. We need to do this perfectly."

She nodded. "Ready?"

"Ready."

They looked one last time to the sleeping Tayuya then formed the needed hand signs for the seal. As both of them finished, they slammed their palms on the floor both shouting. "Uzumaki Clan's Secret Sealing Jutsu: Nine-Headed Dragon Seal!"

The eight lines of characters surrounded the scroll. The scroll seemed to melt with the eight symbols. As it finished merging with the symbols, it connected with the ninth sealing symbol. The jumble of symbols that was once the big Uzumaki scroll snaked its way to the sleeping form of Tayuya. The symbols crawled to her skin and into her stomach forming a circular pattern with surrounding eight characters.

Kazuki quickly ran to Tayuya, forming the needed hand signs on the way. "Uzumaki Clan's Secret Sealing Jutsu: Seventh and Eighth Body Seal!" He placed both his hands on Tayuya. The symbols covering her body separated into two. One going to her stomach, and the other going to her back. Kazumi raised his hand to give Kotome the signal to close the first seal. A spiral design appeared inside the circular pattern on her stomach.

He breathes a sigh of relief, and looked down to see a wailing Tayuya. 'She must've woken up when I activated the suppressing seal.' He picked her up, and tried to soothe her to sleep. He noticed the seal on her back. There were three circles surrounding a small swirl-like pattern. It disappeared before he could study it more closely. He wondered what kind of ability she possesses as her special chakra was concentrated on her back.

"We did it. Kazuki." She said with glee.

"Yeah. But Tayuya-chan's awake now. Even worse, she's crying. Oh what, oh what am I going to do." He sighed, but still he couldn't help the grin on his face.

She chuckled. "You and your silly drama. Here, give her to me. She's probably just hungry. Aren't you my precious Yuya-chan. You want some specially made milk from mommy?" At that moment Kazuki's stomach grumbled. "Aw, Zuki-kun. Do you want me to cook you dinner or do you also want to share my special milk with Yuya-chan?" She grinned slyly.

At that statement, Kazuki blushed so bad his face was the same color as his hair. "Wh- wh- what!"

"It's okay. Yuya-chan doesn't mind sharing it." She grinned evilly, walking toward him. Their faces now inches from each other.

"R- re- really?" There were so many mixed expressions in his face ranging to shock, embarrassment, and a possibility. She couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing. "Wha- why are you laughing?!"

"You should've seen the look on you face! It was so priceless." She laughed again.

"Sh- shut up!"

"Oh, don't be like that Zuki-kun, I was only suggesting the special milk I made from the last ingredients you bought for me."

"Wh- what. I- I thought that-"

"Hmmm. What was that? What were you thinking, Zuki-kun." She slyly stroked his chest.

His face now flushed with embarrassment. Trying very hard to calm himself. "Nothing." His stomach grumbled again, making his face red again.

She chuckled and smiled at him. Seeing her smile, he couldn't help it. He couldn't stay upset when that smiled was around. He smiled at her and at their cute wailing baby. 'Kazuki Uzumaki, Kotome Uzumaki, and Tayuya Uzumaki.'

**AN:**

**Yehey! First chapter finished! I'm so happy!**

**Guys this is my first time writing a fan fiction, and I hope you like it. I also hope you like my writing. I'm not that confident with it. I don't mind critics. It helps me see my mistakes and learn from it, but I'd be much happier if it's a positive feedback. So please review if you find something wrong or praise me for my work or give suggestions or just plain update. I appreciate all your reviews anyway.**

**So, how was the story so far? I made Tayuya in this fic an Uzumaki, but she doesn't know that little detail. The story will revolve around her childhood, to her meeting with Orochimaru, and then her final mission to get Sasuke. Unlike the prologue which has a third person pov, I'll make the rest of the chapters in the Tayuya's pov.**

**So if that's all. See you guys. Please read and review.**


	2. Morning Sun

**Chapter 1: Morning Sun**

When I wake up, I see the sleeping face of my mother. Long red hair slightly covering her face. Warm soft arms wrapped around me underneath a thick warm blanket. Mom is so beautiful and so kind, always taking care of me and Dad. She looks very tired, probably because of the fiasco that happened yesterday. Looking over her shoulder, I see a small silver flute sitting on the drawer beside the bed. Just by seeing it, brings a smile to my face as I remember the things she did for me. Whenever I got scared or had had a bad dream, she would play her flute. The melody that came was like magic. All my fears and troubles were eased out of my mind, replacing them with sweet music lulling me to peaceful sleep. I would then wake up, refreshed and happy with her sleeping beside me. Just like now.

"Thank you Mom." I whisper as I kiss her forehead. I see a small smile lighting up her face. I wonder if whether or not she's awake. Seeing her still sleeping, I gently push myself out of her embrace, making sure not to disturb her. I quietly slip off my clothes and replace them with a white long sleeve turtleneck top and dark pants that went just below the knees, a light purple jacket that hung around my thighs. Lastly a tan colored hat that was given to me by my Dad when I was four years old. It was actually a gift for him on his birthday. Mom made it so that his head gets protected on sunny days when he worked on Mr. Arata's field. Somehow I got a hold of it. When I tried it on, I saw Dad staring at me. I thought I was in trouble so I gave it back to him. But he told me that I could keep it. Said that I looked cute wearing it. It also keeps my hair from getting wild and messy. Mom didn't mind me having it. She said that it looked better on me anyway.

Looking back to make sure Mom's still asleep, I quietly open the bedroom door. I head downstairs and grab a big loaf of bread sitting on the table. It was somewhat warm as I take a bite. Mom must have cooked it a while ago. Finishing my bread of a breakfast, I strap on my brown boots and slip outside the house. A cool gentle breeze washes my face as I step on the snow covered ground. I could clearly see my own breath on the cold winter air. Our house is located inside a small forest. The trees surrounding the area are completely bare with only a few amounts of fresh new leaves. The lively forest animals living within are gone. They either relocated to a new place or were hidden safely and hibernated. The forest was eerily quiet, but once winter ends, probably by the end of the month, spring will come and the forest will be full of life once again.

I make my way through the trees and to a hill. As I climb up to the top, I notice that someone was already there. He was sitting on a log beside a tall lone tree. Upon a closer look, he wore plain black shirt and a brown jacket on top, black snow glove, dark blue pants and light brown boots. His most prominent feature was his dark red hair and chocolate brown eyes. Brown eyes like mine.

"Dad?" I call out.

He looks at me and smiles. "Hey there squirt."

"W- what're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I always come up here." I shrug as I sit down beside him.

"Of course. But why so early in the morning? The sun hasn't even risen yet."

"Well, that's why." I say.

"Huh?"

"The reason I got up so early." I look up at him, giving him my biggest grin as I point my finger at the far horizon to the east. "I wanted to see the sun. To see it rising from those mountains."

"Well, I was just curious."

"Huh?" Now it was my turn to be confused.

"The reason I even bothered to wake up so early and wait for you here on this cold hard log." He looks at me, giving me his biggest grin, mimicking my earlier antics as he pokes my forehead with a finger. "I was just curious as to what were you doing, getting up so early in the morning. Knowing you, you probably were up to no good."

"Hey, I'm good. And for your information Dad. The only time I ever got in trouble was when I beat up that spoiled brat of a mayor's son. And that only happened just yesterday." I pout and cross my arms. "Besides, he's the one that started it. I was just minding my own business when he suddenly grabbed me and tried to attack me with his icky gross lips. So I beat him to a bloody pulp." I shrug. "It wasn't like I did it on purpose. I just defended myself from the attack." Nodding my head, I say, "I'm innocent."

He touches his chin and looks up thoughtfully. "Well, you beat him to a bloody pulp, putting him in the hospital. The doctors say that he needs to stay there and recover for a month, because of the punishment you delivered to him. Hmmmm… Doesn't scream innocent to me."

"Dad! Aren't you angry at him for even attempting to kiss your only daughter?!"

"Of course I do, but wasn't it a bit too extreme for just a little kiss?"

"Dad! It wasn't just a little kiss. If he somehow succeeded in his attempt to-" I shiver as I remembered the scene. "Then it would be my first kiss. Dad! My first kiss! Do you know how serious that is? Ugh. Why am I even talking about this with you? Maybe I should go talk to Mom. She understands these kinds of things better anyway."

"Hey, I can talk about these kinds of things. You can tell me anything. I know how to listen and understand. Come on Yuya-chan." I smile. My real name is Tayuya, but they call me Yuya-chan ever since I can remember, mostly by Mom.

"I don't want just some boy having the luxury to be my first. I want it to be shared with someone special. Someone as special and cool as you." I blush as I say that. I don't know why, but somehow find it very hard to talk to Dad about these kinds of things. Someone like Dad. I wonder if I will ever find someone like Dad. I felt my blood boil as I thought about Kentachi. "And I will never, ever let that spoiled brat to be it. He's obnoxious, self-centered, always getting in my way, thinks he can do anything, and lastly, he's just plain stupid. If he ever tries that on me again, I'll make him so sorry that he wishes he was never even born." I make my point as I slam my fist to my open palm.

"Wow. And I thought Kotome was scary. Like mother like daughter I guess." His eyes widen, and then he slaps his palm on his face. "Of course you would inherit her fiery temper. All women in our long line of family history were short ticking time bombs that turn to scary demons when they got angry. Why didn't I see this coming?" He sighs. "You women are sure a handful."

"Guess what Dad, but we're your women." I giggle. "That means you're stuck with two short fuses. Haha. Live with it Dad."

He pouts and puts on his overly used acting face. I ready myself for his silly yet very funny drama to come. "Oh, oh, poor me. My only child is bullying her poor old man. What oh what am I going to do?" He fakes crying, but I could clearly see him trying to control his own laugh. Seeing the conflicted look on his face, I couldn't help but laugh. He really wasn't a good actor. "Great. Now she's laughing at me. What did I ever do to deserve this vile mockery?"

"Dad. Your acting is so lame."

He crosses his arms, giving me a playful smirk. "Well you're acting like a child. What're you, like four years old."

I giggle, playing along. "That's because I am still a child Dad. And I'm six for your information. Also I'm turning seven tomorrow. How could you forget that Dad? You must be getting senile from old age." I nod my head. "Yep, that must explain a lot."

"Oh, old and senile am I huh." He smiles slyly. Somehow I get the feeling that I'm in serious danger right now. "If I'm so old, then why can I do this?!" He suddenly launches himself, tackling me to the snow covered dirt.

"Dad wait!"

"It's too late to beg for mercy!" He attacks with lightning fast speed, and I couldn't help but laugh and jerk around as his fingers touch the side of my stomach and starts to tickle me.

"Dad! Ahahaha. N- no more. Please! Hahahahaha!"

"Yuya-chan? Kazuki?" A familiar voice calls.

"Mom/Kotome?" Both Dad and I say, as he stops his tickling. I look toward the direction of Mom's voice and was greeted by long red hair and sleepy looking blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue jacket with a snowy white scarf and mittens, dark blue pants and light brown boots.

She yawns and rubs her eyes as she walks toward us. "What're you guys doing up so early in the morning? And what are you two doing lying on the ground?"

"Oh, Tayuya-chan and I were just playing around and having fun."

She looks at us, one brow raised. "By playing around and having fun, you mean lying on the snow at around five in the morning."

Dad smiles and rubs the back of his head while I giggle. I notice Mom yawning again. She must be really tired. "Mom. You okay?" I ask.

"I'm okay. Just a little sleepy that's all. Thanks for asking Yuya-chan." She says as she sits on the log. I suddenly felt guilty since it was my fault she's tired like this. I sit on the log beside her, hugging her tightly. "Is something wrong Yuya-chan?"

"I'm sorry Mom."

"What for?"

"For getting you in trouble yesterday."

"Oh that. Don't worry about it. The mayor was just a big stupid head for getting so worked up on such a silly thing." She chuckles. "Besides, the boy deserved the beating for what he tried to do to my little Yuya-chan." She snuggles her head on my neck.

"Scary." Dad suddenly interrupts. He was standing on the snow with his arms crossed.

"Huh?"

"Don't you feel kinda bad for the boy? It was just a kiss."

"It wasn't just a kiss. It was gonna be our daughter's first kiss! Don't you know how serious that is?"

"Told you so Dad." I say.

"I can see that."

"Anyway why are you defending that brat? I was there when it happened. I saw him make the first move on my little Yuya-chan."

He shrugs. "What can I say? Men must stand up together and defend one another from scary violent women. Besides, look at me. You weren't my first kiss and we still ended up together. I think that- Aaaaaaahhhh!" He screams as Mom uses a kneebar leglock on him. She traps his leg in between her legs and secures his leg with her arms so that his kneecap points towards her body. She then applies pressure with her hips, forcing his leg to straighten, hyperextending the knee joint.

"Can you say that again Zuki-kun?" She says. I could feel an aura radiating from her.

"Koto-chan… Ahahahaha."

Dad's voice was shaking, and I don't blame him. Even I'm shaken by Mom's tone of voice. Guess he was right about the ticking time bombs and scary demons thing. "I wish you luck Dad." I whisper.

Dad looks at me with scared pleading brown eyes. "Help me Tayu- Aaaaaaahhhh!" He yelps as Mom pulls his leg. "What's wrong with you heartless woman?! Don't you know it's bad for parents to fight in front of their child? So let's stop here and- Aaaaaaahhhh!"

"Don't you give me a lecture on how to be good parent. I already had enough of it yesterday. You weren't there when the stupid mayor lectured me about his son and about how Yuya-chan beat him and so on until we were both on each other's throats." She pouts. "He even made me do tons of community service for a week."

"I'm sorry." I say as I hung my head. "It's all my fault that Mom got punished, and Dad taking the blunt of her frustration. I'm sorry Mom, Dad." It really was my fault. If only I held back and just walk away.

I felt soft warm arms wrap around me, holding me tightly. "Yuya-chan. I told you its okay." She sits next to me on my left.

"That's right Yuya-chan. You're mom and I was just playing around."He says as he gets up and sits on my right. The two of them pinning me in between.

"Yeah, we were just playing around. And I hate to admit it, but your dad's right about the whole too extreme beating thing. I was just too upset at the whole incident and took it out on your dad."

"Of course I'm right. And anyway, you should say sorry to um. Ah, what's his name?"

"Kentachi… Spoiled brat Kentachi." I sigh. "Maybe… Tomorrow, I'll go visit him."

"That's my girl." He pats me on the head as I smile. I like it when Dad says "that's my girl" to me. "Tayuya-chan, look up at the sky. Didn't you say you wanted to see it?" I look up and my eyes widen as I saw in the far horizon the top of the big yellow sun, peeking out from behind the mountains.

"The sunrise!" I grin. "Midori's mom said that it will bring good fortune for the whole year when you see the sunrise the day before your birthday, but I don't think its good fortune for me to apologize to spoiled brat Kentachi tomorrow."

"Maybe, maybe not. You might end up getting a friend tomorrow." She teases.

"What! With him. No way."

"Whatever you say Yuya-chan." She chuckles as she brings her arm around my side. I could also feel Dad bringing his arms around me. I lay back, relaxing in their arms as I watch the sunrise together with the two most important people in my life. The three of us together, sitting on a log beside a tree on top of a hill, watch the bright beautiful sunrise. As I watch the sun rising I notice a shadow moving in the trees and lost sight of it. Strange, maybe it was just the light playing with my eyes. I shrug it off and continue to watch the sun with Mom and Dad.

As the whole sun rises up from the mountains, Dad gets up and stretches his arms up high. "Kotome, maybe it's time for you to teach Tayuya-chan the flute."

"R- really?" I say, getting excited. "You're teaching me how to play the flute. That means that you're giving me one, right."

"I was actually going to teach you tomorrow, when I give you your new flute for your birthday… But since I'm in a happy mood, I'll give it to you today. Consider it an early birthday present."

"Yahoooo!" I jump up and down.

"Whoah, slow down Yuya-chan. I haven't even given it to you."

"Thanks Mom." I say, giving her a hug and a kiss. She hugs me back tightly, too tightly.

"The flute is inside the house. Why don't we go and get."

"Okay. But first let's all go and eat breakfast" I smile sheepishly as my stomach rumbles. They both laugh.

"You two go on ahead. I have some unfinished work to do." He says, looking at the trees.

"But don't you want to eat breakfast first?"

He ruffles my hair and puts my hat back on. "It won't take long. I just need to deliver something for Mr. Arata. You know how he hates me being late." He smiles then looks at Mom, nodding his head.

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What's taking Dad so long? It's been eleven hours now since he went to Mr. Arata. Maybe he's doing a lot of work for him, but what kind of work takes this long. It's winter, there's mostly no work being done. Maybe I'm just too paranoid. Maybe it's just the feeling in my gut when he left. Or maybe it's just the surprise trip that we're going to go tomorrow.

When mother and I got home and finished breakfast, she gave me the flute and taught me the basics. After I got the hang of it, she told me to practice some more then went upstairs to their room. After a long while of practicing, more like five minutes, I got curious and went to their room. I saw her putting in her clothes, also Dad's clothes in a backpack. When she saw me, she smiled at me and told me that we were going on a trip tomorrow. Said that I should pack my things too. But I saw it though. The glint of surprise in her eyes and also fear.

Why was she surprised and why was she afraid? Maybe because it was a surprise trip and didn't want me to find out about it. She was surprised when I saw her surprise. Ugh anyway, Dad's still not here. Mom said that we would leave the house when he got here. As I was thinking about this and worrying about that, I heard a knock on the door. "Dad!" I quickly open my door and head downstairs. I grab the door knob, twisting it.

"Yuya-chan Don't!" Mom's voice calls as I open the door, expecting the loving face of my Dad only to be greeted by three unfamiliar faces.


	3. Happy Birthday to Me

**Chapter 2: Happy Birthday to Me**

"Um, he- hello. W- who are you?"

"Our name is of no importance to you, child." The man on the middle said. "We have come here looking for a man and a woman named Kazuki and Kotome Uzu-" He was cut off as a strange looking knife fly straight at the man's neck. He falls down to the snow, the knife sticking in his bloody neck.

I couldn't move as I saw the man dying before me. The two other men lunge at me with those strange looking knives at hand, but stop on their tracks as a wave of knives flung at them. My eyes widen as I couldn't believe my eyes. They block all the knives thrown at them with practiced ease. I was suddenly grabbed, not by the two strangers, but by my mother. Somehow I found my voice, but still shaking. "M- mom. Wh- what's g- going on?"

"Yuya-chan I'm sorry, but it looks like we're going to leave without your father. Go upstairs to your room and get your things. After that, go to my room, and I'll meet you there."

"B- but w- what about you and t- them?" I look at the two strangers as they walk towards me and Mom.

"Don't you worry about them. I can handle these punks." She smiles at me, and somehow it gives me courage. "You just go ahead and get you things and meet me at my room, okay." Nodding my head, I quickly race upstairs. I heard a twanging sound near my head. "You don't need to involve her in this. Don't be a coward. Your fight's with me!" I hear the sound of metal hitting metal as I open my bedroom door and slam it shut.

I quickly put on my jacket and hat, taking it off when I got home. I strap on my backpack and black sandals as I left my boots downstairs. As I grab my flute, the windows shatter. I close my eyes and flung my arms to protect my face then found myself on the ground as another stranger, this one a women, pins me to the ground, the strange knife in her hand ready to stab me in the head. I close my eyes as I felt tears dripping down my face. Am I going to die?

I hear the sound of clashing to metal. The woman that pinned me to the floor was suddenly lifted up from me, followed by a crash on the wall, and the sound of a heavy thing sliding on it. I stayed still for a few seconds before willing myself to sit up and I open my eyes. There was a body lying on the floor next to a foot. I look up toward the other person in the room, and felt wet tears streaming down my face as I see the smiling face of my Dad. I run at him, hugging him tightly. I couldn't help but sob as he pats my head. "There, there I'm here." His cool voice soothing me. "Tayuya-chan where's your mother?"

"Sh- sh- she's downs- stairs with t- two other m- men." I sob as we slip outside. My eyes widen as I see not two men, but six of them surrounding Mom with a long bloody gash on her arm. "Mom!"

Three of them launch at her with their strange knives in their hands. I felt the presence of my Dad leave me to see him jumping at railing, his hands weaving signs so fast. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" A strong wind blows the attackers away, hitting their other comrades. He then lands on the floor as he weaves another signs. "Wind Style: Gale Palm!" He claps his hands as the air surrounding it turns to a powerful gale. The wind blows to the men, slicing them on the way. Their bodies fall on the floor. What just happened? What did Dad do to them? I quickly head downstairs. As I approach the both of them, I could see a glowing green aura surrounding Mom's hand as she touches her wounded arm. "M- mom, Dad, w- what's going on? What happened just now!?"

He looks at me then at Mom. "Kotome, you and Tayuya get as far away from here. There are still other enemies around the area, and they're headed this way. I'll stay behind and hold them off." He closes his eyes as a single tear drops down his face. "Someone sent not just a squadron, but an army of mercenary ninjas. If somehow I-" He shakes his head and smile. "You two are the most important people in my life. It was the most happi-"

"Don't give me that crap! Kazuki!" She screams, and I couldn't believe my eyes as she slaps him on the face, tears running down her cheeks. I've never seen her this angry before. Is that really Mom?

"Kotome, I-"

"Shut up! How dare you say crappy things like that to us! How dare you! What the hell were you thinking you big idoit! Letting us leave and never planning to follow. Such a big idiot."

I suddenly realize what Mom and Dad were talking about. "Dad, you're not leaving us, right. You're planning to follow us when you're done, right."

"Tayuya, I can't pr-"

"Don't tell her what you can and cannot do! Let me tell you what you can do. What you're gonna do is beat them down and kick their asses out to whatever hell hole they came from, and after you're done, you follow us understand." She says. "Do you understand me?! Kazuki, do you unders-"

"I understand, Kotome. I understand perfectly." He says as he hugs her.

"Just come back to us safe."

"I will." He kisses her then kneels in front of me, looking straight to my eyes. "Yuya-chan, take care of your mom for me until I get back." I nod and felt a lone wet tear trickle down my cheek. "Be brave Yuya-chan. Will you do that for me?" He brushes the tear away from my face.

"I'll t- try Dad. I'll try to be b- brave for you and Mom." I sniff and embrace him. Holding him close as his arms surround me. I wish this would never end. I don't want this warmth to fade.

But sadly our embrace broke as he stands up. "Kotome, their coming."

"Yuya-chan." She calls as she kneels down. Her hands on her back. It was like she wants me to climb on her back."Climb on my back."

"But Mom, Your injury." I say, pointing at the long gash in her arm and gasp as the earlier wound was gone with only a few traces left.

She smiles at me. "Don't worry Yuya-chan. It's healed." As I climb on her back, she dashes forward with speed I didn't know she had. Everything I once knew was suddenly turned upside. I look one last time at the house we were leaving behind, and Dad walking outside before the trees conceals him from my view.

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The sun has already set by the time we got to a small cave. Lightning and thunder drum the night sky. It was cold, very cold. Even though it's not that snowy here, it was still very cold. I could see Mom light up a small fire, enough for us to share in its warmth and enough for us to avoid detection. Ever since we got here, I couldn't help but think about what happened earlier. Everything happened so quickly. The three men arriving at our house, and apparently they're looking for Mom and Dad. Mom taking down a man and fighting the other two, which added by four more, and Dad saving me from the woman that almost killed me and taking her down also, then saving Mom by attacking the thugs with wind. Even now, I still can't believe that really happened. Then Mom's hand glows and her wound suddenly heals away. Everything I seems unreal. Am I dreaming? Of course not… Maybe they'll tell me once things quiet down. Maybe…

I scoot over to her side, laying my head on her shoulder as she wraps her arm around me. "It's been six hours now, and still no sign of Dad coming." I could feel her fingers tightening their hold then loosening up.

"Don't worry Yuya-chan. He'll come. He said he would." She smiles at me as I yawn. "Why don't you sleep for a while… It beats sitting here staring at nothing." She chuckles.

Lightning suddenly flashes the area, followed by the loud drums of thunder. "I can't sleep Mom." I could feel a warm blush creeping to my cheeks. "I can't sleep when there's lightning and thunder around."

"Yuya-chan, do you want to hear mommy play you a song?" I look at her. Her blue eyes staring into mine yet somehow they were far away.

"Mom?" Her eyes blink like she was just woken up from a dream. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm okay. I just remembered something, that's all." She smiles at me. "Thanks for asking by the way Yuya-chan."

"You're welcome Mom." I say, smiling back to her.

"Do you want me to play you a song?" She asks as she takes out her flute.

"Yes please." She positions her fingers on the flute and raises it to her mouth. The sound that came was soft. It was a steady tune, changing ever so slowly. Taking it's time and letting it follow the melody. My eyes suddenly feel heavy. I could feel my eyelids drooping. The flute really is magical. The melody changes to a high yet soft tune. It was very lovely and very sweet. I could feel my mind relaxing. All the trouble, all the pain and sadness, and the fear that roots them all, was washed away. I lie down on Mom's lap as I close my eyes. The melody singing me to sleep... when suddenly it stops. "Mom, what's wr-" She cuts me off as she places a hand in my mouth and putting a finger on her lips, indicating for me to be quiet. She silently puts out fire, leaving us with nothing but darkness.

As my eyes adjusted, I could see a silhouette outside the cave. Is it an enemy or is it Dad? The area illuminated once, followed by a loud crack in the night sky, but that's all I needed to see the face of the silhouetted man, and sadly it wasn't Dad. He walks toward the cave and stops in front of it. My heart skips a beat as my mind thought up thousands of question. Did he saw us? If not, would he walk away? If so, would he attack? Can we defend ourselves? Can I defend myself? He continues to walk, not in our direction, but opposite of ours. I sigh with her hand still covering my mouth, but soon enough lowers it. I relax, closing my eyes and opening them to see a metal knife flying towards me. It was getting closer and closer, until all I could see was a flash if red and the sound of metal clashing to metal.

She lunges at the man and stabs him with her knife. He dodges and throws his knives at her. She blocks them all and throws her own. Same thing with Dad, she weaves hand signs. "Wind Style: Gale Palm!" She then claps her hand. Wind surrounds the knives she threw, making them faster. It hits the target, but only for it poof in smoke and a log replaces the man where he should have been. Suddenly, a cold sharp metal presses against my neck and firm hand grips my shoulder.

"Mom!"

"Stay where you are or I'll slice her neck clean."

"You coward! Let her go! She's not involved in any of this."

"As I recall, this little girl here called you mom, correct. That means she's your daughter." He chuckles and presses the knife against me. A stinging pain envelops my neck, and warm wet liquid trickles down my neck. I realize it was blood, my blood. I could feel all the color draining away from my face as I realize that I might seriously die here right now. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster, my knees trembling and feeling weak. Is this it? Am I going to die here today?

Tears stream down my face and a soft sob escapes my lips. "M- mommy." I say my voice a little more than a whisper.

The man suddenly laughs. His voice echoing throughout the walls. "This girl's funny. Crying her eyes out to mommy." He shakes me. "What were you going to say next? Help me mommy or save me mommy. Or how about don't let him kill me mommy. He laughs "You're so weak, so helpless. It seems like your daughter doesn't know anything. Since she's no use to us, maybe I should just kill her right now and be done with it." He laughs harder as I let out a sob. "Look at her, she's so pathetic. I could just squeeze the life out of her. Every drop of her pathetic blood, down inside my throat." He laughs again as I shiver and tremble, whimpering and gasping. I'm so scared. I'm so scared. Mommy help me. Mommy save me. Don't let him kill me Mommy! Why won't you say anything?! "You know I didn't think you would be this heartless. For a mother you're just standing there and letting me torment your child. Why don't you scream and curse my name Uzu-"

"Are you done yapping yet? Cause I'm so sick and tired of your annoying voice." She complains as she pinches the bridge of her nose, then points at me. "Let my daughter go or else."

"Or else what? Remember if you try anything funny, this kunai slices deep in your precious little daughter's throat."

"Look at your hands you sicko." The hand on my shoulder lifts.

"Hmph. There's nothi-" I could see Mom smirking. What was happening? "What did you do to me?!"

"Hmph. First you must let go of my daughter."

"What if I kill her right now?!" His hands tense as I close my eyes, waiting for the inevitable to come. Every second that ticks, tenses up my body. As the seconds pass by, I hear the sound of metal clanging. Slowly but surely my eyes open. The knife that was pressed on my neck was now on the floor. I'm not dead. "You witch! What did you do to me?!" Turning around, I see the man that tried to kill me lying on the ground. Black markings covered his whole body slowly disintegrating him. I could only watch as he slowly disappears.

"And seal." A spiral pattern appears on the ground. I hear her sigh, her footsteps coming closer as she holds me close. "Yuya-chan, I'm so sorry." Something wet drops on my head. She was crying as was I.

"M- mommy…" My voice wavering.

"Mommy's here. Mommy's right here."

I turn around and embrace her, hugging her tightly. "M- mommy. P- please d- don't leave me."

"Yuya-chan, I will never leave you. I'll always be here to protect you and-" Her eyes widen.

"Mom?" She suddenly pushes me to the ground. Numerous loud thuds echo throughout the walls. Something splatters across on my face, and I wipe it off with the sleeves of my jacket. Looking at the stain, it was red in color. The color of blood. Whose blood? Surely it wasn't mine. "Mom!" My eyes widen in shock. She was lying on the ground with a large stone spike imbedded in the abdomen. I fall to my hands and knees, emptying my stomach of its contents. My hands were trembling. Mom's hurt, really hurt. I need to go to her. I force myself to look at her face. Slowly but surely my trembling hands crawl up their way to her, stretching my hand for her to reach. Suddenly, a force pushes me away as pain throbs at my side. I look up to see two men standing above me. One was a tall man wearing glasses standing in front of me. The other a big buy with a sword raised above his head, ready to cut Mom down. No. I won't let them hurt her! I launch myself at him, my fist pulled back, only for me to fall down again and clutch my stomach as the Four Eyes punches me in the gut.

"Well, lookie her. The brat has some nerve to attack us." Four Eyes sneers.

"Hmph, we'll just kill her nice and slow after we're done with this witch." Says Sword Guy.

"I won't let you hurt her." I stand up, ready to fight again. I glance at Mom. She was panting heavily, blood covering her body. She's loosing blood fast if I don't do something now… "If you want to hurt her, you have to go through me first!"

"Yu- yuya-chan, d- don't." She says weakly, coughing up blood.

"Mom!"

"Fine by me." Sword Guy points his raised weapon at me. "If you really want to die so badly, then I'll gladly accept to be your executioner."

"I'm not scared of you!" I run at them with full speed, dodging Sword Guy's forward thrust, and diving towards the knife on the ground, my hands locking on its handle as I quickly stand up ready to strike at them. Four Eyes lunges at me knife in hand. I duck and thrust the knife to his gut. He side steps and kicks me hard on the head. I cough up something that tastes like iron as I landed head first to the ground. I try to get up still disoriented, but fall down again as another blow lands on my head. This time I couldn't move. My body wouldn't respond. A hot searing pain envelops my upper right arm, and I scream. "Aaaaaaahhhhhh!" It hurts so much. I can't… Mommy, I'm sorry… "Aaaaaaahhhhhh!" I scream again as a heavy force presses itself against the wound.

"Tayuya!" She screams. Even now she's trying to stand up with a large stone spike imbedded in her gut. My vision failing me and the pain so unbearable, but I could see her still not giving up and weaving together hand signs. "Ninja Art: Consuming Demonic Dragons!" Eight ghostly balls of darkness shot out of her hand, entering the bodies of both Sword Guy and Four eyes. They fall to the ground, convulsing and writhing in pain and then suddenly they stop moving. The ghostly balls return and then fly to Mom entering her body. She falls to the ground screaming and gasping for breath.

"Mom!" I ran to her, clutching my right arm. "Mom! Are you okay?" She nods then grabs the spike in her stomach and pulls it out of her body, letting it clatter to the ground. She grabs my arm. Her hands glowing green as she places them on top of my wound. "Mom, you're the one who's hurt. You should heal yourself first instead of me!" She touches my forehead with her blood covered finger, moving them in a circular pattern. "Mom what're you-"

"Don't worry." She wraps her arms around me, embracing me, holding me tightly as she rests her head on my shoulder. I could see the area around the wound in her body slowly healing. "The technique I used takes the enemy down on the spot. Paralyzing them first then entering their bodies and killing them slowly in the inside. It's quick and precise, but it puts a huge strain on the user."

"Then why did you use it when you know that something's going to happen to you back. Why didn't you just use the thing you did earlier to that Sicko guy?"

"I didn't have enough time. I only had enough time do the seal to Sicko, and that was because he was yapping and yapping around." She chuckles then coughs up more blood.

"Mom! Don't speak you need to rest!"

"I didn't want you to get hurt and I needed to save you quickly. I could use other jutsus to take them down, but you would also be hurt as well."

She did that all for me. Sacrificing herself just to make sure I'm not hurt. It's my fault she's injured. If I wasn't in the way, she wouldn't be hurt like this. "I'm sorry Mom." Her arms tightening their hold. "I sorry for getting in the way. And because of it you only got hurt. Mom I-"

"Y-yuya-chan, I'm so happy that you're safe. And I'm happy that we're together." She smiles at me. The smile that always makes me feels safe. "I only wish that your Dad was here together with us." She chuckles. "He's always late you know, in our class, our first training session, our first date and even in our own wedding day. The only time he got in time was when you were going to be born, even though he got kicked out by the midwife." She chuckles. "But he always comes and pulls through. He'll be here. I know it… And we're gonna wait… for him… here… toge… ther… Yu… ya-… chan… She whispers as her body slumps to mine.

"M-mom." I call. My voice trembles, as I shake her gently. "Mom… Mom, this is no time to be joking. Mom… Mommy!" Her hands slumps to the ground, and finally I realize the horrible truth that my mother is gone. New tears fall down my face as I hold her dearly in my arms, cradling her as the warmth of her body slowly fades away.

It was cold, so very cold. Colder than the icy winter night. The thunderstorm rages on outside the cave. Its cold merciless heart cracks the night as I held the cold dead body of my mother in darkness. I felt an uneven lump as my hand brushes through her jacket pocket. Inside held a pink card, saying Yuya-chan in big bold letters. I rub the tears in my eyes as I lay my mother's head on my lap and open the card. It reads:

_Happy Seventh Birthday Yuya-chan!_

_Wow! You're seven now, Yuya-chan. You're growing up so fast. It seems just like yesterday you were in my arms. You were so cute back then. Ah, don't worry Yuya-chan, you're still cute, but I still think you were much cuter then, hehehehe. Anyway Happy Birthday Yuya-chan! I hope that you have felt very special today and know that you are so loved. I am so thankful for you, and love all of the fun times we have shared together. Yuya-chan, I'm happy for having you as my wonderful daughter, and I'm happy for being your mother. I will always protect you, and guide you, and take care of you. I love you very, very much, Yuya-chan. Hugs and kisses._

_Love,_

_Mom_

The card slips from hand as hot wet tears streams down my cheeks, landing on the cold unmoving face of my mother. I let out a sob. "Happy birthday to… Me…"


	4. First Time Alone

**Chapter 3: First Time Alone**

Alone. I'm all alone. All alone in this harsh snowy wilderness. My mother's cold dead body buried underneath its thick layers of snow and dirt. Her card, dangling between my fingers as I sit in front of her grave. Nothing much except for a large stone resting on a single tree and winter flowers lying beside the bed. Opening the card, I read it again, absorbing all that words she said to me. The happy words that I would see when my seventh year comes. I wish she was here, wishing it so badly that this was all a bad dream, a nightmare. That I would wake up to see her beside me. I wish I was still home with Mom and Dad. Dad... I haven't seen him since yesterday. He promised that he would come. That he would meet with us. But he's too late. Mom's already gone. Gone... I can't believe she's gone.

A lone tear trickles down my eyes, dropping from my chin to my hand. Looking at it, all I could see was blood. It covered me on my hands, my clothes, my face and even my hair. There was blood. So much blood... My blood, and also the blood of my mother.

I scream, letting all my frustrations out. The fear, the loneliness, the pain. The unbearable pain etched deep within my heart, and a little burning flame. One of rage. I clutch my empty heart as I shed final tears to Mom. "Mom, thank you for all the things you did for me. Thanks for the laughs we shared, for all the support and the love you've given me. Always staying by my side when I needed you." A sob escapes my lips. "Thank you for being a loving Mother, and thank you for being your daughter. I love you so much mommy... So much. There's so much more I want to say to you. So much more for you to teach me, to guide me. So much more... Why'd you have to leave me alone?" I clutch my heart further as I cry with all my might. Crying to her, letting all the sadness and loneliness pour out my soul. Exhausted, I fall down to the cold snowy ground, entering sleep's embrace.

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_"Tayuya." A voice calls. "Tayuya wake up."_

_"Whose is there?" I call, looking left and right._

_"Tayuya." It calls again._

_"Who're you?"_

_"..."_

_"Hello... Please answer!"_

_"Tayuya, over here." I dash towards the voice, looking all around._

_"Tell me where you are?"_

_"Over here."_

_"Where?"_

_"You're almost there."_

_As I ran head straight a bright light suddenly appears, my eyes automatically closing. I could hear the sound of chirping. Birds, at this time of the month. Opening them, I could see a figure standing beside a tree. It was just standing there unmoving. My feet start to walk, leading me to it._

_"Hello." I call. It moves turning its head to mine, making me see its features. "Dad?" I run towards him, calling him. "Dad, it's you. It's really you. I've been so worried I-"_

_He raises his hand, open palm directed toward me. "Tayuya, where's your mother?" He asks._

_Sorrow and pain washes over me as I remember the things that happened earlier, the image of Mom lying dead in my arms. "Dad, mom's gone." I say. Silent tears drip from his brown eyes. He then turns around and walks away. "Dad! Where are you going!? Don't leave me!" I shout, running after him._

_I stretch my hand, reaching towards him only for me to slip right through his body and crash to the ground. Dark black tendrils suddenly shoot out from it, grabbing my hands and my feet as they slowly drag me down to the dark puddles they came from. Dad was just standing there, staring at me with cold bloodshot eyes as he caught on fire. I couldn't speak. My voice, nothing but air. I could only stare at him burning as the black hands of darkness consume me into nothingness..._

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"Dad!" I wake up panting. My heart beating a thousand times faster. "A dream. It was just a dream. A dream." I say, trying to control my breathing. "A bad dream. Mom, could you play me yo-" I stop as I remembered that she can't play me her flute anymore because she was dead. Loneliness and pain engulf my heart as the image of my dying mother appears before me. Hugging my knees close to my chest, I cry.

Crying. I'm crying again... I hate crying. I don't want to cry anymore. Why am I so weak and so afraid? _"Be brave Tayuya."_ Dad's voice echo inside my head. _"Will you do that for me?"_ Somehow, his voice gives me strength. The strength that I needed to move on. Rubbing the accursed tears away, I promise. "I will Dad. I will be brave. I'll find you. For Mom." With those words, I get up and head back towards the cave, leaving behind the pink birthday card on her grave.

As I enter the small cave, numerous kunai, as I remember hearing those strange looking knives were called, were littered all over the ground, while large stone spikes were imbedded two feet within its walls. A black spiral pattern on the ground at the back and two dead bodies lay nearby it. I didn't bother giving them a burial. Although, I somewhat regret it, cause they're starting to rot and I think I'm going to hurl at the stink their emitting. Walking to the far right corner, I open my backpack.

There are three pairs of change in clothes, a comb, my flute and Mom's, some snacks and a single water bottle and three thousand ryō."All I need more is a weapon to defend myself." I grab four kunai and put it in my pack, leaving one inside my jacket pocket for quick use. I put on my backpack and head outside.

I didn't realize it was already morning. The sun has risen and is about one-third in the sky. Usually I would be aware of time, but with the events that happened yesterday, I expected much. The sun was at our backs when it set, so if I head due west, I should probably end up home. Looking one last time at her grave, I whisper a small goodbye, "I don't know what will happen to me and I don't know what will await me when I get home but. I promise you that I will find Dad. Goodbye Mom. I'll visit you someday." Turning and looking up the cloudy sky, I take a deep breath and head towards my destination.

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I've been walking for hours and there's still no sign of home and no sign of Dad. The good thing though is I've yet to encounter the bad men. While continuing the trek, I notice the sky getting dim, the surrounding area getting thick with fog and snow falling from the sky. Raising my right hand, a little snow lands on it. No, not snow, but ash. "That's weird. Where'd it come from?" My eyes widen. I run at a full on sprint, my legs carrying me the way. "Please let it not be what I think it is."

The trees were burned badly. Black scorch marks appear all around even the ground. I stifled a gasp as I saw dead burned bodies littered all over the snow. But most of all was the state of our house. It was nothing more than a pile a charred ruins. I run through the forest to the hill. What awaited me on top shocked me. Everything in a one mile radius was burned down. The town, the forest, even the snowy plains was scorched black. "It's gone. My home is..." I could feel tears starting in my eyes. "No. No more tears. I've got to find Dad." Looking around, I notice that an area in the middle of the blast radius was blacker that the rest. Maybe, I might find clues there as to where he is.

As I enter the area, the once standing trees were now blown to bits and were littered all around the scorched black ground. Everywhere I look, there were black charred bodies, and in the middle of the area lay a single one. It seemed that the whole blast originated from it. Closing the distance, I notice a small twinkling crystal on top its chest. It seemed familiar.

"It's Dad's crystal necklace. But where is he? He never leaves it arou-" Then realization hit me. He never takes it off. It was very important to him. Yet the crystal was on this body. That means that this body here is... "No. It can't be. Dad you're not... Don't leave me." I cry, my voice shaking. I don't know why, but when I looked at the body I just knew it was him.

I grab his charred hand and gasp in sadness as it crumbles away from my grasp. I couldn't hold back the tears forming in my eyes. "Dad, you broke your promise. You didn't come back. You had to leave me. You and Mom left me all alone! Everything's so wrong! Why did this have to happen?! Why did you have to die?!" I scream. Pain and loneliness engulf my soul and then something else entirely. Something broke out of me. I felt a deep burning hate in my heart. Hatred for those who did this to them, to my parents. I grab his crystal and put it inside my pack. Even with the slightest touch made his body crumble away. Deep hatred poured into me. "They'll pay. They'll all pay. I'll make them suffer my wrath. I'll become strong and I'll avenge your deaths. I swear that on my life and your graves." A gust of wind pours out and washes over the area, making the charred remains crumble away and fly with it. I could only watch as the wind blows my father away into nothingness...

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It's been two days since the incident at home or what used to be my home. Everything's destroyed. I even checked the town. The buildings, the trees, the people, everything was burned down. Not one thing survived the destruction. I clench my hands in anger. Even the townsfolk were all killed. They didn't let anyone alive... Except for me... Deep hidden rage pours out of me. Just thinking about what they did, makes my blood boil. It's the only thing that keeps me going. I won't let their deaths be in vain. I will have my revenge.

A deep soft rumbling could be heard in the distance. A storm is coming. I'd better find shelter soon. Picking up the pace, I weave my way past the jungle canopy, following the stream of the frozen river. I've been walking nonstop since I left home. I need to get out of this snowy land. My supplies are almost empty. I can't find any animals or any kind of food. If I don't find any sign of life soon, I'm dead...

After a lot of hiking and trekking and walking for hours, I finally found the exit. The forest leads out to a steep cliff and there's no way to get around other to climb down. The river I'm following drops down to a large frozen lake, surrounded by numerous trees. Across it was a wide plain and mountains could be seen at the distance. "It's still a long way to go." I'm not even sure what I'll find past there. I'm losing hope. If I don't find anyone or anything, I won't survive this. I take out my water bottle. It was still frozen solid. "Ugh, everything's screwed!" I scream, throwing the bottle away. "If someone could just somehow get me out of this horrible snowy wasteland then thank you very much! I am eternally grateful! I'm so frustrated! I'm tired and hungry and so cold! I've lost everything! Everyone I care about! And I'm so very, very thirsty." I say, dropping down on the cold snowy ground. The rumblings in the sky are getting louder. The storm is coming soon. "Why does the world hate me?"

_"Complaining isn't productive, Yuya-chan. It's just a big waste of breath."_ Her words echo in my mind. _"Try to think positive and you'll get somewhere."_

"Mom." Closing my eyes, I remember the night she died. Hate and rage builds up again. "You're right Mom. Complaining around won't get me anywhere. It's just a waste of time."

Food's not a problem, but will be very soon. What I need is water and shelter. It was so cold, I'm freezing all over. The feeling was like the time when I spent the night outside in the rain. I ran away from home because I was upset with my parents. I couldn't remember why or what happened. The only thing I do remember was how cold it was and my Dad rescuing me. He said to get rid of the cold was just think of a warm happy place and think that my body was warm just as that happy place. He told me to concentrate on only just that. Closing my eyes, I think of home, Mom and Dad. I felt a tingling feeling. I felt warmer and more secure. I felt safe and happy. The thought of seeing them happy and laughing, brings a smile.

With renewed vigor, I move to the edge of the cliff. Slowly and carefully I make my way down. I can't say I'm not afraid because I'm truly trembling inside. Though it's a good thing there are numerous holes and protruding rocks to grab onto, it's still very dangerous. About halfway through the steep rocky face, a lightning bolt suddenly struck. Because of the fatigue combined with hunger and thirst, and the sudden jolt, I lose my grip on the rock. I fall…

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Pain. That's the first thing that comes to mind. Wait. If I could feel pain then I'm still alive! Opening my eyes, I could see the dim stormy sky above. I was lying face up on the cold frozen lake. Cracks appear on the outline of my body. There were chunks of rock littered on the lake. Slowly but surely I tried to stand up, but with the way my body was shaking so much, I fall down. "What happened?" I say, trying to remember what happened.

I remember the lightning bolt and me falling, the feeling of close to dying. And then there was this tingling feeling in my back and a glowing light. I sigh. Everything was just a big blur. And how am I even still alive after such a fall? Although I'm grateful, I couldn't help but wonder.

Forcing myself to stand up, I slowly make my way to trees, my tired feet still going. "I must keep moving forward no matter what. If I stop now, I'll surely die. And I don't want to waste my miraculous fall of death. No way, I'm giving up." My legs buckle up and I fall on the cold snow. My strength is failing. My throat is dry. I need water. Looking at the snow, I was debating whether or not to just eat it. It'll give me water, but it'll rob me of my heat. And I'm already suffering from the cold. I'd rather be dehydrated than having hypothermia. I try to stand up only to fall again. "If I can't stand then I must crawl." I croak. Inch by inch I force my hands to pull my body forward. My mind focuses only on one thing. Survive.

Standing up and ignoring all the pain that comes, I pass through the trees. Inch by inch my legs keep moving. Even if I fall, I'll stand up. I'll keep moving. I won't stop till I'm out of breath. Eventually I reach the wide plain. "Tayuya, you can do this." I take a step forward, then another, and another. I don't know how long I've been walking. My mind was so focused I didn't realize that I already crossed the plain. Somehow I made it to the craggy mountain. It wasn't big and intimidating as I thought it would be. Scanning the area, I notice a narrow passage on the ride side of the mountain face. Taking itty-bitty steps, I slowly traverse the pass.

About ten minutes or so, the high mountain walls that surrounds the narrow passage encloses at the far end, leading it to a dark tunnel. I gulp. I have no whatsoever flashlight or any kind of light to see in the dark. I search the area for another way, but the tunnel was the only thing I could find. "I guess there's no other way." Taking a deep breath, I move forward. It was so dark, I couldn't see a thing. Is this what it feels like to be blind? I grope around and feel the surrounding walls. As I step further and further away from the light, it gets darker and darker yet also warmer. I smile. At least there's a good thing in all of this.

For about an hour of trekking, the ground shifts to an angle. The way goes down, leading me underground. The deeper I get the warmer the place seems. Suddenly my foot struck something hard, making me fall down face first on the ground. My head hurts. Wet sticky goo creeps down on my forehead, blood. I'm bleeding.

"Ugh." If only I had a light to begin this wouldn't happen. Rummaging my bag, I grope around for a shirt. A small light suddenly emits itself, blinding me temporarily. Slowly I open my eyes, blinking away the dancing lights until they were gone. The light seems to come from inside my backpack. Looking closer, the light came from a stone. Dad's crystal.

"Wow." I gasp in awe. "I never would have thought that Dad's necklace would be a mini flashlight." Using it as a guide, I tear the hem of a shirt and tie it around my head. Somehow I felt something was off.

"My hat!" Looking around, it was nowhere to be found. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. It can't be missing. When did I lose it!?" My eyes widen as one word went through my mind... Cliff. "It's gone." I say, dejected. It was the only thing Dad left me. Now it's gone and there's no time to go back for it. With a heavy heart, I move forward.

While traversing the underground cave, I could hear a faint dripping sound. Using the crystal as a light source, I make my way to sound. I could feel my mouth watering from thirst. Picking up the pace, I turn right, then left, and then right again to end up in an underground clearing. In the middle was a pool of water. "Water." I whisper.

Before I could go in and drink it all up, my common sense kicked in. What if the water's not safe to drink? There might be creatures lurking in as the water wasn't clear. Now I think about it, it looks dirty. I sit down near it, debating whether or not to give in to my urges. I grab a small stone and toss it in the middle. As the disturbance caused by the stone send ripples on the water, a large fish-like creature suddenly shoots out from it. I gasp as I could see its pearly white dangerous sharp teeth.

As I witnessed the creature splashing back down, I find myself ten feet away from the water. It's one hundred percent carnivore. If I jumped in when I did, I might be fish food by now. I gulp. The sound of dripping water shakes me out of my thoughts. Wait, water. The waters here's not frozen. Then maybe my water bottle has liquefied. I rummage through my backpack, trying to find it. Then my face fell as I remembered throwing it away when I was having a tantrum. I face palm. "Tayuya, you're such an idiot."

I can't drink the water with that thing creeping around or swimming around. And even if I do kill it, I'm not sure whether the water's safe. I'd better just go, while I still can. With that thought, I leave the water behind.

I've been walking in this cave for so long I've lost track of time. It's so dark in here even with the crystal light. And I don't think I'll survive long without water. The ground beneath starts to shift in an angle. Slowly forcing me to give more effort in walking as I climb up. Then at last, I could see light coming from the distance. I force my legs to move faster, trying to ignore the pain and the fatigue. My hunger and especially my thirst. I just want to get the hell out of here!

I close my eyes as the light overwhelms me. I couldn't open them as the light hurts, so I just stood still letting my other senses take over. The warm sensation on my skin, the sweet scent of the forest trees, the sound of running water. Water! I open my eyes and wince as it hurt. Slowly I blink the light away and see the beautiful world that surrounds me. The white snow I was used to was replaced by a beautiful green land. The trees were once again alive and green. There were birds and squirrels and other animals roaming around. The green grass and colorful flowers were refreshing. And the sky was a bright blue, the sun peaking behind the puffy clouds. The place is so beautiful and warm.

"Water." I croak. My throat is really dry. "Need to drink that stream." Making my way past the trees and to the running water, I put away my pack and get down on my hands and knees and drink up the sweet fulfilling water.

I lie down on the grass, looking up the blue sky and the clouds drifting away. My eyelids felt heavy. Making my way through a forest, falling off a cliff, traversing a snowy wide plain and the deep wandering underneath the mountain. Plus the pain from the fall and the hunger and thirst. All of them combined really wasted me. My eyes slowly shut and I knew nothing more...


	5. Flute's Melody

**Chapter 4: Flute's Melody**

I wake up to see a five birds flying in the sky. They land on a tree the sun was peeking behind. It was early morning since the sun was still rising. It seems I've slept for a whole day. As I push myself into a sitting position, I groan. Every part in my body hurts. Even small movements bring pain. I must have pushed my body to its limits for me to end up like this. I lie on a tree and just stare at the surroundings. It was really magnificent. I think spring is my favorite season and winter the least.

While sitting down, I take the time to inspect myself. The head injury I received underground was bandaged but not cleaned properly. It might have infection if not treated soon. My clothes and skin are covered in dried blood. I need to wash it and take a bath. Emptying my backpack, I check my remaining supplies.

First off the list is my water bottle because I threw it off a cliff. A single cupcake, three pairs of clothes and underwear. Two shirts that are fine and the other torn at the bottom. Two pairs of shorts and a single pair of pants. A comb, my wallet containing three thousand ryō, three kunai, my flute and Mom's, and last is Dad's glowing crystal. I put them all back in the bag except for a light pink tank top and dark green shorts, and the white torn shirt.

I stand up and groan in pain. I slowly make my way to the stream and drink from it. Stripping off my clothes I ease in the water. Talk about drinking where you bathe. Well, it couldn't be helped. I am really dirty. Taking off the bandage, the wound was swollen but was closing up. Gently I wash it and wince as the water touches the sensitive area. When it was clean, I proceed in washing off the dried blood. The blood on the skin was easy to remove but on the hair was much harder. It took me several minutes to wash it off completely, I think. Looking at my upper right arm where I was stabbed, the wound was gone only soft pink skin remained. There were no scars whatsoever. If Mom could heal a wound, then why did she die? I saw her stomach healing but... I look at the water. But it wasn't enough. It was too large a wound and I think she already lost a large amount of blood. Tears were staring to form in my eyes.

Thinking of another subject to avoid crying, I try to remember the abilities Mom and Dad performed. Both had a control over the wind and use it to attack the bad guys. They had fast reflexes and could fight armed enemies. Mom was really fast. It only took us an hour to get to the cave while I took several hours to get back. She had the ability to heal injuries and disintegrate people. And even summoning those dark transparent balls. I wonder why they kept it a secret from me.

After the bath, I take the torn shirt and tear another strip, wrapping it around the wound. Using the shirt as a towel, I dry myself up and put on some fresh clothing. I then proceed to wash my old gear and set them on a branch or rock to dry off. My stomach suddenly grumbles.

"Ugh, I'm so hungry." I say, clutching my stomach. Walking to my bag, I grab the cupcake inside it and munch it down until it was all gone. It rumbles again. "Still hungry." Looking around the forest, I search the area for any kinds of fruits or anything eatable. There was a yellow fruit hanging on a branch high above the ground. I need to climb it in order to reach it, but I can't do that right now since my body's still recovering. Even now I'm still amazed that I could do such a feat as walking for about like a thousand kilometers without any water. But I think I don't want to experience something like that again. Once was enough. Following the stream, I try to look around for food that is on the ground not above it. With luck, I find a bush thick filled with berries. Using the torn shirt as a basket, I fill it up and head back to base.

After washing the berries in the stream, I sit down under a tree. My legs still feel sore. Even with minimal work the muscles are still in pain. Guess I'll just stay here for a while, until I'm a hundred percent.

Picking up a berry, I open my mouth ready to eat it, but a thought comes to mind. What if the berry is poisonous? I need to test it out first. A rabbit suddenly appears out of the bushes. Perfect. Picking a single berry, I put it on the ground, not too near, but not too far from it. I slowly back away, making sure not to startle it. Watching it intently, it slowly makes it way to the berry. It smells it first and then eats it up. It seemed hungry so I roll it another. I watch it eat it up as I take a bite of my own. Sweet. It tastes sweet. Sweet as the melody of the flute. I smile. I never had a chance to practice my flute ever since the incident.

I take my flute out of the bag and place it to my lips. The cool metal so smooth and so perfect in my fingers. Closing my eyes, I play a soft tune. One that will soothe my soul. Instead it produces a horrible loud sound. The rabbit nearby scuttles away and hides behind a bush. Then there was silence. I sweat dropped. Shifting to a proper position, I play it again, practicing my do-re-mi and trying to get the proper tune.

After a while, I finally got the hang of it. It's not perfect like Mom's, but it's good enough for a beginner. Closing my eyes, I imagine her playing it. My fingers trying to replicate the movement of hers. The melody that comes makes my heart flutter with excitement. Every sound it produces fills me with happiness and joy.

As the melody continuous to play, the rabbits from before appears again. Slowly but surely, it makes its way toward me. As it nears me I stop playing. It also stops as soon as the melody ceases. Lifting my hand, I reach for it only for it to run away. I quickly put the flute back on my lips and play the song again, wishing for it to stop and come back, willing it even. And to my surprise it did stop and even turns around toward me.

I stop playing and look at the flute in my hands. What just happened? Is the flute magical like Mom's or was it me. My parents have super powers so maybe I inherited some as well. They kept it a secret from me. If only they taught me I would be of some of use when emergency comes. Instead I was crying and trembling. If only I was stronger, I could have saved them from dying. If only... No. I shake my head. Now's not the time to linger in the past. I was powerless to stop them, and they must have a good reason for not telling me anything. If I want to get stronger, I need to practice this newly found ability. If I'm strong enough to survive for two and a half days without water, then I'm strong enough to master this power.

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It's been a week since I arrived at this place. My wound has healed and my body's in top shape. I've been busy practicing my flute. I found out that I could control the animals. Well, control's not really the word. It's more like guiding them. Using the flute, I can project images in their minds. They react to it to the way I want them to act. It was somewhat like an illusion. For example, I want a squirrel to come to me, so I think of an image where it sees a bundle of nuts rather than seeing me and project it using the flute's sound as my transmitter. Although it works on little animals like rabbits and squirrels, the big ones like a deer wouldn't work on them. My illusion's too weak. I need to practice more.

The sun was setting. I think it's time for me to go back. Four days ago, when I was exploring the area around. I found a small cave near the stream. It was hidden very well by rocks and undergrowth. Since then, I moved my things and stayed there every night. And it surely beats sleeping there than outside.

While heading back towards the cave, there was an unearthly glow in the dimming night sky. Smoke was coming from it. My curiosity getting the best of me, I head towards it and find out what's the cause.

As I near the area, I use the same technique I used when warming my body. I think of an image of a fox. It is silent, quick and light on its feet. I concentrate my mind on my own feet, willing them to be quick and light just like the fox. Silently I make my way to the light. There were two figures heading towards a bonfire. That must be the glowing light I saw. The two were carrying some sort of huge bag. As they near the fire, I could see some of their features. Both were men and were sporting a green vest with a red spiral pattern on the back. Blue long sleeve shirt, long pants with bandages wrapped at the bottom and blue sandals. A piece of metal on a cloth was tied behind their heads. There was a design carved on it, but I couldn't see it very clearly.

"This is the last one."

"I think it gets heavier and heavier every time we do this. Hey, why are we doing this again."

"Didn't you read the mission? Oh, never mind. You were probably daydreaming again weren't you?"

"No I wasn't."

"Yeah, yeah tell it to the judge. You probably were thinking of Sanari again."

"Wh- what are you talking about? No I wasn't." I could see the blush on his face even in the dim light.

"Whatever, let's just finish the mission and go home." They throw the bag they were holding into the open fire. Then suddenly another man appears from the trees. He wore a different outfit than the other two. A grey vest and grey armguards with black clothes underneath, and black pants that was also wrapped in bandages at the bottom. He had silver grey hair that spikes to the left side. A cat like mask was on so I couldn't see his face. He also had a small sword on his back.

"Are you two done?" He says.

"Yes sir. We just finished burning the last body." At that statement, my body freezes. They were burning bodies.

"Good." Good?! What was good about burning people! "Did you leave out one for examination?"

"Yes sir. It's over there inside the bag."

The man in the mask walks toward it and produces what appears to be a scroll. He places it on the ground and opens it up. He then executes hand signs and the bag was sucked into the scroll. Black markings appear on the white paper. It was just like the time when Mom did that. Just who are these people?

"You know it's not nice to eavesdrop on people." Mask Man says. Is he talking about me? "I know you're there. Why don't you show yourself?" His two companions take out those kunai. My eyes widen. Are they in league with the ones that killed my parents? Oh no, I better get out if here.

As I turn around, I bump into something hard, making me stumble and fall on the ground. It was Mask Man who bumped me. But he was far away. How could he be so fast?

"Sir, it's a kid."

"I can see that." I back away as he closes the distance. He then lowers himself to my height. "Hey there, where'd you come from?"

"..."

"It's okay. We're not going to hurt you."

"W- who are you?"

"Well, isn't it customary to introduce yourself first before asking for someone else's name?" I hesitate. Should I tell him?

"Well, isn't it rude to introduce oneself to someone wearing a mask." I retort.

"Touche. Are you lost? Where are your parents?" Just the reminder of them puts a stabbing pain in my heart.

"They're gone."

"I see."

"Sir, should we take her with us?"

"Yes, we'll take her back to the village. Put out the fire, we shouldn't stay here any longer." He stands up and stretches his hands to me. "We should go."

"Wh- why should I go with you? How will I know you won't burn me just like what you did to those people there?" Darn it! There's no way to get out of this. With him so fast, he'll catch me in no time if I run away.

"I promise, you won't be harmed."

"How will I know you'll keep your word?"

"Well, you'll just have to trust me on that."

"C- could I get my things first."

"Sure thing."

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We headed south west to the land of fire to a place they call the Village Hidden in the Leaves. They told me they'll help me find a new home there. They seem nice, but I can't forget what they did last night. Why were they burning those bodies? Did they kill them? I don't know the details, but one thing I'm certain is that they're just like Mom and Dad. They have a special abilities and powers, just like them. The thing Mask Man did to that body was similar to the one Mom did. They're no ordinary people.

"Um."

"Hmmm, what is it?" Mask Man says.

"W- why did you burn those bodies?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"It's classified.

"Why's it a secret?"

"Because a kid like you doesn't need to know about those kinds of things."

That's it. I'm running away. I can't trust people who keep secrets especially when it's about something major as killing people and burning their bodies. All I need is a distraction to make my escape. I could use my flute on them. Make them think I am still there while I run away. The only problem is I'm not sure if it will work on them. My ability only works on small animals. I haven't even been able to make it work on the big ones let alone human beings. If I make a move now, they might suspect what I'm doing. And if they're really bad guys, they might even kill me. I gulp.

Mask Man looks at me and suddenly stops. "We'll stop here and rest here for a bit." He takes out a candy and gives it to me. "Here."

Taking it I say. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Sitting on a rock, I look at my flute and sigh. Maybe I should just stay with them. Maybe it's for the better.

"Hey there." I yelp. "Oh, sorry there. Didn't mean to scare you."

"N- no. It's okay. I'm just a little jumpy."

He chuckles and rubs the back of his head. "Hi my name's Tanmaki. What's yours?"

"..."

"Oh, sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He smiles at me and points at the flute in my hands. Oh, no. Is he onto me? "Well anyway, I couldn't help but notice that flute you got there. Can you play it?"

"Y- yes.

"Great! Could you play me a song?" This is it. He's giving me a chance.

"Okay." I raise the flute to my mouth. The cool metal brushes against my lips. I take a deep breath and let the melody works its wonders. I project an image of myself, sitting on the rock and playing the flute. Slowly I stand up, backing away to the trees. The three of them were looking where my illusion is playing. Good. It works. All I need is to be quiet in my escape then I'm free.

As I turn around and walk away, a hand suddenly grabs my arm. It was Mask Man who grabbed me. How did he know?! I look at the other two and to my surprise there was another Mask Man. This one wakes up his two companions.

"How did you- Get down!" He drags me to the ground. It was then followed by a thud sound coming from behind. The weight on top of me lifts and a series of metal clashing to metal follows. It was just like before. I need to get out of here. Getting up, I run as fast as I could away from them. "Hey, where're you going?! Damn it!" The clash of metal continues again.

I was running. Running for my life. I'm sure it was them again. They're here for me. I'm not strong enough to fight back yet. My ears suddenly pick up a faint sound. It was the sound of barking. A dog? No, a lot of dogs. The sound gets louder and louder. They're catching up to me. A dog then suddenly appears in front of me. It had a blue jacket and a headband just like the other two guys.

I turn to another direction, running full speed, and I end up in a river. If could get to the other side I could lose them. But the current's too strong. I'll only get swept away. The barks become louder and louder until they appear right before me. There were a total of eight dogs pursuing me. All of them wore the same blue jacket and headbands. Slowly, I back away.

"You know you'll fall if you take one more step." The littlest one of them says.

The dog talks! And I freaked out. I take a step back then suddenly slip away as the ground I was backing away to crumbles. I fall to the river below.

Water, there was water everywhere. I try to swim upwards only to fail as I remembered I don't know how to swim! Someone grabs me on my shirt and drags me up the water. As I break the surface, I inhale large amounts of air. It fills my lungs with sweetness and security then I fall back again. I panicked. My arms went wild, grabbing the nearest thing I could find, I push myself upwards.

"Hey, sto-... Squirrming!"

"Yeah, you're n-... Making this easy!" I couldn't help it. I was so scared. The only thing in my mind was to get out of the water.

"Stop it o-... I'll bite you!" I could feel sharp pain in my left arm, but still I continue to grab and drag them. Then a roaring sound comes. Louder than the sound of the running waters. Louder than my beating heart drumming in my ears. A bark pierces through the sound.

"I know th-... But she wo-... Stop it already!" The roaring gets louder and louder.

"We're gonna fall!"

"Hang on!" The water beneath me drops. Opening my eyes, I could see the sky above and the water raining down on me. I scream.

I'm falling... I'm falling! That was the only thing on my mind. The dogs were falling as well. Stretching my hand, I reach for them, only for them to poof up in smoke. One by one they poof up and were gone, leaving me to fall by myself. Closing my eyes, I await for the darkness to come...


	6. Trust and Distrust

**Chapter 5: Trust and Distrust**

"Are you sure she's still alive?"

"Yeah. She's alive alright."

"Should we take her to Saki?"

"Duh. Of course."

Who are they talking about?

"You carry her, while I'll get her things." A rough hand seizes and hangs me onto something hard.

"Ugh. Where am I?" I groan.

"Don't wake her up!"

"What should I do?!"

"Well, I don't know. Maybe knock her out you idiot!"

"Damn. You don't have to say it like that."

One smack in the head is all that took to bring me back to the darkness.

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_"Yuya-chan. Yuya-chan."_

_"Hmmm."_

_"Wake up sweetie. It's time for you to wake up."_

_"Five more minutes please."_

_"..."_

_"M-mom?"_

_"..."_

_"Where are you?"_

_"You need to wake up now."_

_"Mo-"_

_"Goodbye Yuya-chan."_

_"Goodbye? Mom, where're you going?"_

_"..."_

_"Mom? Mom! Mom!"_

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"Mom." I mumble. I feel so dizzy. And I think I'm going to hurl. I try to sit up, but my limbs won't respond. Opening my eyes, I could see the starry night sky above. The moon was shining its faint light below us. I try again to sit up, but like before they won't respond. Looking down at my body, there was a think rope wrapped around me. "What?" I squiggle around to loosen the rope.

For about half an hour, I still tried to free myself, but nothing happened. So I give up and breathe a sigh of defeat. What happened? Where am I? Looking around, I notice that I was in some sort of cart. There were cases, crates, bags and other things in it too. Then I hear voices.

"Wake up, wake up! It's time to move!"

"Get the goods and move!" I could hear a lot of sounds. Voices, scrapes, clangs, etc. Suddenly, a man peeks inside the cart. I quickly feign sleep.

"Let's get moving!" The sound of boots and hooves stomp the ground beneath, and the sound of wheels rolling ensues. Then my cart also moves along.

Taking a peek, I look around. When nobody was looking I try again to get out of the ropes, but still it won't budge. Curse this rope! During my struggle, I accidently hit something metal, and it rang loud. Crap! The sound attracts the man from before.

"Well, lookie here. Our lost kitten is awake." He sneers. Another man appears.

"Looks like she was trying to get out."

"Well, that's dumb. I tied that myself. Whatever you do, you won't get loose. "He snickers. I didn't like the look on his face. He climbs onboard the moving cart with a knife in hand. Slowly, he crawls up to me and laughs as I continue to struggle.

"What are you two doing back there?!"

"Uh, nothing." The second man says.

"Help!" I scream, hoping someone would save me.

"Shut up brat!" The man on top punches me hard and my face erupts in pain. I could taste irony liquid within.

"Hey, hey easy. She's just a kid."

"You two! Stop this nonsense!" The man's weight lifts up from me. "She's not good to us broken. You two, switch places with them. I'll not have you spoiling the goods." Footsteps trudge the dirt beneath as the men exchange places. My left cheek continuous to throb. Never before in my life have I been hit like that. And I never thought I would end up in this situation. Mask Man never treated me like this. I guess I'm the one to blame for running away.

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Four days they've been traveling, and four full days I've stayed tied up except on bathroom breaks. They undid the ropes around my body and tied them around my hands and feet. Of course, I'm grateful for at least that, and also relieved that they didn't do anything else to me, but most of the time they just ignored me. One time, they forgot to feed me for a day, and I had to work up the courage to tell them I'm still here and pretty much starving.

It was so hot today. The sun was at its highest peak and there were no clouds to block it. I wish they would at least make a cover for me. But who am I kidding. I'm their prisoner. I'm not even sure what their plan for me, and I don't want to wait to find out.

Well, there's no use in mopping around. What I need to do is find a way to escape. My cart was in the middle of the group so there were eyes and ears at the front and back. There were also many men in the company, about fifty or so. I don't think my flute could trick them all. Now that I think about it, I can't seem to find it anywhere. Even my other things inside my bag were missing. They must have taken it somewhere.

The sudden halt of the cart shakes me out of my thoughts. The company stopped at a pass. A large gate was in the way, and it was towered by two hills on either side. The gate has a large character that says 'Tokomitsu Gate'. The man called Saki steps forward. He was the leader of this company and the one who saved me from the two men that night four days ago. He was also the one who ordered the men to untie me and the one who bandaged my bite mark. He was muscular and well toned. He wore a white sleeveless shirt with black armguards, black pants and black sandals. Has blonde hair and has character tattooed on his right shoulder which means power. But his most distinctive feature was his dark brown skin. I've never seen anyone like him before. I wonder where he came from and if there are more people like him.

He places his hands on the gate, and his hands glowed or I think they glowed. I'm not really sure. I was far away, and I couldn't see it clearly. Maybe the sun's doing funny things to my eyes. The gate opens and the group passes through. Up a head were two buildings. One was large like a mansion and the other was medium in size. The two buildings were surrounded by numerous trees, covering and making it hard to spot. We head to the smaller one. It was farther right into the trees. The building was dull and grey in color. Cracks were littered across the walls and some vines found their places there. Windows were placed only on the walls above, and at the bottom was a wide metal door. Slowly the door opens and one by one we go inside.

The building looks huge and spacious inside than when I saw it on the outside. Numerous crates were packed everywhere, filling about one-third of the room. Lights were hanged up on the ceiling. They weren't on as sunlight coming from the windows provided the needed light to see inside. The group stops, and the men starts to unpack the crates, bag and whatever other things. The animals that helped move the things were escorted out of the building. As I try to look around for my backpack, a hand grabs me.

"Time to go to your room little miss." He carries me like a doll and drags me to who knows where. I didn't try to fight or protest, because I didn't want to be beaten and make trouble. Besides what can I do when I'm tied up with over fifty men inside a building with only one exit.

He was large and bald, and wore a white shirt and blue pants. He walks to a door on the right side of the room and opens it. It has a set of stairs that leads underneath the building. A hidden basement for what purpose. At the end of the stairs was a long hallway with many doors on both sides. All of them were made of metal. He leads me to a door at the end of the hall and takes a bunch of keys out of his pocket. He opens it and shoves me inside.

The room was dark and dreary. It had jail cells on both sides. There were scrawny men and women inside. They were crying and moaning. As I got close, a hand suddenly grabs my arm.

"Help me child! Please, help me!"

"Save me!"

Don't let them take us!" One by one they plead for my help. But what can I do. Like them, I'm also a prisoner.

"Everybody shut up!" Baldy warns. He grabs the offending hand and takes it away. "Let's go. We're in the wrong room. They should put warning signs on the door." He mumbles the last part. He leads me outside and locks the door. But even though the door was shut, I could still hear the screams going on inside. Looking down, I could see that my hand shaking. What horror happened to them to become like that? I'm scared.

He takes me to another room. This one was like the other room but was empty except for two cells on the far right. He opens a cage on the far left and pushes me inside.

"What's gonna happen to me?" I ask. He looks at me intently, and I look back with the same intensity. His eyes looked sad.

"Don't worry. You won't end up like them." And with that he leaves the room.

"Please help me." I whisper as I sit on the ground, hugging my knees. No one answered. Of course no one will answer. I'm alone...

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They give us food twice a day, one at ten and the other at six. Sometimes, baldy smuggles me sweets and stuff. He's somewhat kind like Saki so maybe I should stop calling him baldy in my head. But I don't know what's his name is.

My other two prison mates are boys. One was tall and had dark blonde hair. He wore a black shirt and blue shorts. He looked older than me. Maybe two years. The other one wore a light brown tunic and dark blue pants. He looks about the same size as me and was also dark blonde. He looked younger than the other boy, maybe the same age as me. I wonder how long they've been down here. I never tried talking to them and neither did they. Well, might as well get friends if I'm going to stay here. Besides the silence is killing me.

"Hey." I start. "What are your names?" They didn't answer or even looked at me for the matter. They ignored me and that pissed me off. What's there problem?

_"Well, isn't it customary to introduce yourself first before asking for someone else's name?"_ Mask Man's voice echo in my head. Oh yeah, maybe I should introduce my name first.

"My name is Tayuya. Who are you guys?" Again I was greeted by silence. "Fine! Be that way." I turn around and head back to my bed.

"Atsuro."

"Huh?" I turn back to face them.

"Atsurou, what are you doing?!" The older boy says.

"Telling her my name."

"I told you shouldn't speak to strangers. Don't trust any of them."

"Hello, I'm right here." I say. He gives me a glare and ignores me again. That boy pisses me off.

"But brother, I think we can trust her. She looks nice."

"Don't judge them by appearance. Even if she looks nice, she might be evil." Back and forth they argued whether I can be trusted or not. They're ignoring me again. I sigh and walk back to my bed. I just wanted the silence to stop. Now I get noise.

"Bastard! Look at what you did! You scared her off!"

"It's for the best damn it! Let the bitch be!"

My eyes went wide as I hear them cursing at each other. What the-? My sensitive ears pick up their wild foul mouths. Once, I heard my Dad said a bad word like that, and then Mom made him eat a bar of soap. It was very funny seeing him eating soap. I let out a small giggle. Then my heart sinks. It ached at their loss. They were gone and were never coming back. I should just accept it.

A tear rolls on my cheek. No! Stop it! I don't want these cursed tears anymore! I hate this! I hate this! Their deaths replay in my mind, Mom dying in my arms and Dad crumbling into dust. Why them? Why'd they have to kill my parents? I hate them. I hate them! I remember my oath to avenge them, to hunt down their murderers. Yes. That's right, my promise. I need to find them and kill them.

A sudden creak of the door shakes me out of my thoughts. The visitor was Baldy with a three sets of trays filled with a small amount of food. He first gives other two and takes yesterday's trays, and then does the same to me. Then he gives me a cupcake. Before he could leave, I grab his arm and look at him in the eyes.

"Why are you being nice to me?" I say. He then chuckles. "What's so funny?"

"You remind me of my daughter. Maybe that's why." He starts to walk away but I held his hand firmly.

"What's your name?" He looked shocked and taken aback by that simple question. What's up with guys and names? He says nothing. And it seems he doesn't want tell me, so I let go of his hand. But as my hand drops he quickly grabs it and encases it with his other hand. He smiles at me, a pure happy smile.

"Goburo." It was my turn to smile.

"Tayuya."

"You know."

"Hmmm."

"You're the first one who ever ask what my name is. Most of us here just ignore each other."

"You're welcome."

"You're a nice kid."

"Um."

"Yes?"

"Do you know where my things are?" I ask. He looked unsure. "Their kind of important. They're the only things I have of my parents."

"Maybe, maybe I could get them for you."

"Re- really."

"Yes. Leave it to me." He lets go of my hand. "Well, I'd better be going."

"Bye." I wave my hand as he leaves the room. That was a nice talk. My stomach suddenly grumbles. I guess its lunch time. I take the food Goburo gave me.

While eating, I could feel eyes staring at me. I look up at the two to see the Jerk Boy glaring at me. What's his problem? Ignoring him, I continue to eat my meal.

"I see that you're a good deceiver." Jerk Boy says.

"What?"

"You were totally manipulating Baldy there." He points the finger at me. "You were getting on his soft side and were trying to get him give your things. You must have something there that could get you out.

"You're wrong! I wouldn't do something like that! And point that dirty finger somewhere else."

"Oh don't lie. I can see you're true colors."

"Shut up! Leave me alone!"

"I can see that you're parents raised a manipulating lying bitch." Bloody hot rage flowed into me and I just burst out.

"Shut your trap! You're the son of a bitch! Damn you! Damn you, you bastard!" I scream my breathing heavy. After five seconds, I just realized the sudden horror. My eyes widen. What did I just say? Why did I say that? Crap, he's rubbing his jerky germs on me.

"I knew you're not innocent." He snickers. "You're fake, just like the rest of them."

Just ignore him Tayuya. You know it was an accident. You didn't mean those words. You're a good girl.

No you're not. Good girls don't make an oath to kill someone. He's right you're only fooling yourself. You were manipulating Goburo so you can get the flute to escape.

It hit me like a bullet. He was right. I was trying to get my flute back. My priority is to get out of here and find my parents murderers. Yes, I made a promise to hunt them down and kill them.

"What's wrong? Did I hit the target right?" He taunts.

"Leave me alone." I say.

"That's what I was doing from the first place. But you just had to stick your shitty nose in everyone's business."

"Brother, please stop." Atsuro says.

"Whatever. I think she got the message." And with that Jerk Boy shuts up.

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I didn't finish my meal after that fight. I lost my appetite. How did it end up like this? I just wanted to talk. Anyway, he does have a point. If Goburo gives me back my things, I'll use it to escape this rotten place and away from that rotten boy. Two more hours and I think Goburo will come again with food, and hopefully my things.

Everything went back to the way it was, with them talking only to themselves, while I sit here alone. Sometimes, I would see Atsuro looking at me. His brother never bothered to look at me again. Whatever, if I get out of here I won't see them again and hear their bad mouths.

I smile. If Mom was here, I bet she would make the two of them eat soap, and maybe me as well, since I used those bad words too. I can imagine what her face would look like. A scary demonic face when their short temper breaks. I chuckle silently. I remember Dad hiding behind me when he accidentally burned our dinner. I remember the happy times. It felt like it was only yesterday, when they were alive, and we were living happily together.

I clutch my heart. My promise to them is the only thing that keeps me going. Without it, I think I'll go crazy like the people in that other room. And maybe bitter like those two brothers. I don't know what his problem is. But from our talk yesterday, I could say that he has some major trust issues. Even someone as young as me is someone to distrust. And I just turned seven last month. Last month. My birthday was the day they died.

The door suddenly opens and Goburo comes again with food. He gives the boys food first then to me.

"Hi Goburo."

"What's wrong? You haven't finished your food." He had a worried face on.

"It's nothing." I'm still pretty much upset on what happened yesterday.

"Well, would this make you happy?" He takes out a flute from inside his jacket. It was my mother's flute.

"It's Mom's." He hands it to me and I gently cradle it in my arms. "It's the only thing I have left of her. Thank you." I say. And I meant every bit of it.

"You're welcome. I couldn't get your other things. I almost got caught. I just grab the nearest thing and hid it. I'm glad it's something important." He rubs the back of his head. I smile, and then take a look of seriousness. He frowns as he notices my sudden change.

"I have a question."

"Go on."

"If you could leave this place, w- would you go?" He gives me a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I meant."

"I guess..." This is it. If he says yes, I'll let him come with me. "No."

"W- why."

"This is my job. I work here and I don't think I'll ever leave."

"Do you like your job?"

"Maybe, yes."

"O- okay."

"Look I'm sorry. I can't let you out of here. And if you do get out, they might kill you. Just, don't think of trying to escape. You shou-"

"It's okay. I understand."

"Tayuya, I-" He stops as I give him a smile. A fake smile.

"Do you want to hear me play?"

"Tayuya."

"Please." I pout.

"Oh, alright. But just one song."

"I will."I put the flute near my mouth. It was much larger that my own, but it's basically the same. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself as I manipulate Goburo.

The melody flows, and I project him an image of me sitting down and playing the flute. After a while, a crack appears at the back of the wall. The illusion me stops playing, and both Goburo and the illusion looks at the growing crack. Suddenly a large spike impales the illusion.

"Tayuya!" Goburo screams. He takes out his keys and unlocks the gate. "No, no, no. Please not again." He cradles the dead illusion in his arms. "Please not again."

Without any emotion, I grab the keys that fell when he cradled the fake body. I walk out and lock the cell door. I suppose he would wake up now, but he still carries the fake body and cries his heart out. A pang of guilt washes over me. I shake my head. No, I can't feel that way right now. I head to the door, but hand stops me. It was Jerk Boy. He looked shocked, afraid and curios at the same time. I shake him off and walk away.

"Wait!" This time it was Atsuro who stopped me. "Don't leave us here. You can't lea-"

"Why should I help you?" I say with harshness.

"We can help you escape. They've let us out before and we know what the compound looks like. We know where to sneak out." He looked desperate. Like he wants me to believe what he says. So there's a possibility, he's lying to me. I can't trust what he's saying. "Please, Tayuya." I breathe a sigh. Maybe he could help me. Taking out the key, I unlock his jail cell.

"Let's go."

"What about my brother?" I sigh again. Even though he's a jerk and all, he still has a family who loves him. A family. I head to his cell and set him free.

"Thank you." He says. Now that surprised me. I didn't think a jerk like him could be polite.

"Um, s- sure. Let's just get out of here."

"Hayaki."

"Huh?"

"My name is Hayaki." I smile. At least he trusts me now, maybe.


	7. Prison Break

Sorry for the late update. I was sick… And I still kinda am. Here's chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Prison Break**

_"Hayaki."_

_"Huh?"_

_"My name is Hayaki." I smile. At least he trusts me now, maybe._

"Tayuya." I say extending my hand. "Nice to meet you."

"R- right." He looks away. Wait, did he just blush? Weird. Maybe it's just the light. I notice that Goburo was still trapped in my illusion. He was crying out on a fake dead me. I suddenly feel all wrong inside, like my insides are all tangled up. I know what I did was right. I needed to escape, besides his just a stranger. Yet why do I feel like this?

"What did you do to him?" Atsuro asks. He points at the crumbling frame of Goburo. He was mumbling, saying sorry. But why would he care so much? We just met for about a week or so. "Tayuya?"

"Huh?" His voice shakes me out of my thoughts.

"You spaced out."

"Oh."

"It's okay if you don't tell us." This time it was Hayaki who answered. I look at him at his dark green eyes.

"Thanks." I say.

"S- sure. Let's just go." He goes to the door and slightly opens it, taking a peek outside. "There are no guards around. I think it's safe to go." He steps outside followed by his brother. I look one last time at Goburo. Sure he was kind to me. And maybe it was because I remind him of his daughter. But he's still one of them. He chose them. And that's that. I exit the door, leaving him trapped in my cruel illusion for who know long. Hayaki was looking over a corner while his brother was right behind him. He nods at me. "It's clear. There are no guards."

"Okay." I say, walking beside him.

"Brother, I think we should tell her the formation."

"Formation?"

"Yeah, our formation to get the hell out of this damn place."

"What my little brother means is that we should stay in a single file. I'll be the lookout at the front and Atsuro at the back."

"What should I do?"

"You're in the middle. And also stay on the lookout. See if there are any of them we've missed."

"Alright." One by one we head out, Hayaki at my front and Atsuro at my back. We walk along the hallway and eventually reach the stairs. At the top was the door that leads to the big storage room or whatever it's called.

"It looks clear from here." Hayaki says as he opens the door just enough for us to fit through. Slowly he goes through it. Following his example, I slowly go through, making sure not to make any loud sounds. He was crouched behind a crate, looking over what I suppose where the exit is.

"What do you see?" I whisper as I crouch behind him.

"The door is open, but the there are men guarding the entrance."

"How many are there?"

"I can't say for sure but from here I can see five of them. No wait, six. The sixth one is sitting nearby on a tree."

"What's the plan?" Atsuro asks, crouching beside me.

"I'm not sure. It's too dark outside and we don't know how really many they are."

"But you said there are six of them."

"Yeah. Six of them I can find. Don't you know there are maybe more of them outside in the dark?" He retorts.

"You know you don't have to be so mean about it." Atsuro pouts.

"Well don't ask stupid idiotic questions in the first place."

"Bastard."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Okay, okay, guys calm down. Why don't we take a deep breath and stop arguing." I interrupt. The both of them just glared at me then back to each other. I sigh. Grabbing their arms, I look at them straight in the eyes with all seriousness. "Look, we need to find a way to escape not argue with each other over something so little. If you two don't stop what you're doing, we'll end up getting caught or worse get killed."

They gulp.

"K- killed?" Atsuro's eyes widen.

"We might. I don't know what kind of people we're dealing with." I shake my head. "This isn't some game where when we can start new when it's over. No. This is reality and once it's game over, it's over."

"I know that."

"Then we need to work as a team and live through this. So please stop fighting and get your act together."

"Sorry." Hayaki says.

"Yeah, me too." Atsuro follows.

I smile at them. "Apology accepted."

"So what should we do?"

"Well, there is only one entrance or exit. Whatever."

"And that one is guarded." Hayaki follows.

"How about up there?" Atsuro points at the windows.

"It's too risky. We might get spotted. Besides, it's high above the wall. We can't reach it. And even if we do somehow climb it, how will we get down?"

"Oh. So now what?"

"I guess are only option is the door."

"But you said it's guarded, and there might be more of them than we thought."

"I know what I said." His voice rising.

"Guys, keep it down." I shush.

"We can sneak out using the crates around as a shield. And once were near the entrance." He looks at me.

"Yes?"

"Can you use your magic flute thingy?"

"I'll use it if it means escaping."

"Can you use it on six people at once?"

"Well no. I haven't tried it yet, but I did use it on three people. And it only worked on the two guys." I sigh. "I'm sorry but, I'm not sure if I can do six."

"So what now?" Atsuro asks.

"Will you please stop asking that?" Hayaki says.

"What's your problem?"

"Nothing, just you distracting me as usual."

"Say that again."

"I'm damn sure, I'll say it again."

I sigh. This is getting nowhere. Are these two always like this? I tune out their noise as I examine the room, trying to find a way to escape. The only exit was the front door but was guarded. The windows were high, and it would take two to reach it. And just like Hayaki said. It's a fairly long way down. So the entrance is our only option. I shake my head. I don't know if it'll work. Mask Man wasn't affected by it when I used it on them. Something about him was different. Then it clicked. The reason it didn't work was because he was different. They called him sir, so he had a higher rank than the two. He was stronger and definitely faster. I wonder what it would be like if I had stayed with him.

Well, what's done is done. Focus Tayuya, back to the task at hand. If Mask Man wasn't affected by my power then these guys might be. Even if they're six of them, I might be able to make it work. Yes, it's worth a shot. I look at the two brothers. They were silent but glaring daggers at each other.

"I'll try it." My voice seemed shake them off. "I'll try out your plan."

"Are you sure? We got only one chance at this."

"I'm sure."

We sneak to the door, using the crates and other things that are good to block us from view. I take a peek. There was no one around the room, only the men outside. Following Hayaki, we made our way to the entrance. As we sneak about, I notice something that was not a crate or any kind of package or what not. I stop and take a closer look. My eyes widen and I jump up and down inside. It was my backpack. I found my backpack. And as abruptly my heart lifted, it also abruptly went down. My things were across the room. But in order to get it, I need to cross the middle. And that means, I need to walk by the open entrance. Unfortunately there were no covers of any sort as the middle of the room was empty. Darn it... It's right there in front of me and I can't reach it.

"Tayuya, is something the matter?" It was Atsuro. He looked worried. I look back at my backpack and sigh.

"It's my bag." I say, pointing at it. "It's across the room and I don't think I'll get it without being caught."

"Is there something inside there that's very important?" I nod. "Then let's go and get it."

"It's impossible. I can't risk being caught by getting it. It'll only jeopardize our escape."

"I agree. We can't risk it." Hayaki joins in. "Right now, we need to get near the door for the magic flute show."

"Oh yeah, about that. What will I do to them?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I play my flute, I can give them images they will see so..."

"Wait, so you don't control them?"

"Well, the actual term is manipulate. I manipulate their sense of sight. I change what they see into something I want them to see."

"So if you can change their sense of sight, can you change their other senses?" Atsuro interjects. His words got me thinking. If I could manipulate their sense of sight, maybe their hearing too or taste or smell. But I'm not sure it'll work or if I can do it. "Tayuya?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure. I haven't tried it yet."

"Can you make them fall asleep?" Hayaki asks.

"I don't know." Why are they asking me impossible things? "I haven't tried any sleep inducing spell. I just project images. But Atsuro does have a point."

"I do?" Says Atsuro.

"You said that if I could change their sense of sight, there's a possibility that I could change their other senses."

"But you said you haven't tried that yet."

"I do. But there is a possibility I can do it."

"So you're gonna experiment your theory on them." Hayaki interjects. "What if it doesn't work?"

"Then we're toast. Even if I use my flute on them, they'll still hear its sound. They'll know something's wrong. That why I need them to know that I'm playing the flute before I can do its magic."

"Why didn't you say so?"

"I actually just realized it now." I say, rubbing the back of my head. "Anyway, if I could manipulate their sense of hearing then I can camouflage the flute's sound so they won't suspect anything."

"And if it's successful then we can escape without being noticed."

"And we can also get your backpack." Atsuro smiles and I give him a smile back.

I position myself near the entrance with brothers behind me. The men outside were still unaware of our presence. I look at Hayaki for confirmation. He nods. Okay, take a deep. Relax and let it flow inside you. Feel the energy within yourself. Let it into your soul. I place the flute near my mouth and let the melody seize me. A soft tune escapes the flute and into the unsuspecting men. I will to change what they hear and what they see. Nothing out of the ordinary, just guarding the entrance with nothing but themselves.

I glance at Atsuro signaling for him to move. He makes his way across the room to my bag.

There were owls cooing in the still moon night and grasshoppers creaking with the breeze of wind. The trees were swaying with the cool night air. And in the silent distance, a howl could be heard. I camouflage the flute's melody with these sounds. I hope it works.

One of the guards was staring inside the room, and Atsuro was near the middle and almost in view. My heart races as he passes the entrance. This is it. Please let him be invisible.

Atsuro continuous to move toward my bag, and the man staring in the room was not retaliating. It worked. I look at Hayaki, and he smiles at me. He mouth what I think is 'good job'. I look back at Atsuro. In his hand was my backpack. Good. It's time for us to go.

I stop playing the flute and slowly make my way to the entrance with Hayaki right behind me. As we near the door, the man outside comes in. I stop in my tracks. He looks my way and I thought he saw me. With wide eyes I await him as he walks in my direction. I could feel Hayaki and Atsuro stop dead in their tracks. I dare not move or do anything as I fear it might break the spell on him. He was ten feet away and closing fast. Willing myself to be invisible in his eyes, I hold my breath as my heart races for the coming storm. Closer and closer he moves toward me until he walks past to crate full of bottles.

My body feels heavy and my legs buckle. Good thing Hayaki was there as he catches my fall. He slings my left hand onto his shoulder. He nods at his brother and slowly we walk outside. The guards there were talking with one another. I didn't focus on what they were saying as my heart still beats like thundering drums in my ears. I felt so drained.

We walk past the door and into the open air. The men were still talking and laughing. I got an idea of what they were talking. It was about a land over the far east mountains where a big bright fire appeared in one night. I lost track of what they're saying as my vision starts to black. What's happening to me? I feel so tired.

We went past the men, and into the deep forest. I hope the brothers know where to go and find a way to escape. My vision blacks out and I knew nothing more...

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Awakening to the sound of water, I open my eyes. Green leaves were above, shading me from the morning light. They were swaying with a cool gentle breeze, the sound of birds chirping in the blue sky above, and the splashing of nearby water.

Sitting up, I look around the area. I was in a forest near a large lake. My two companions were splashing in the water.

"I'll get you for that you bastard!"

"You can try all you want but you won't get me!"

"Aaargh!" Atsuro lunges at Hayaki, making them both splash underwater. I hope they're not fighting. But knowing them...

"Damn! I'll get you for that!" Hayaki shouts as both come out of the water.

"Haha, you're it!" Atsuro points at his brother, taunting him.

"I'm gonna get you, you little bastard." He makes his way toward him as Atsuro backs away laughing.

They were playing tag. That brings a smile to my face. Even though they swear like a sailor they're still kids. Of course I'm not forgetting myself. I'm a kid too. I notice my bag sitting beside me. I grab it emptying its contents. All my clothes were still there, including the torn shirt, both the flutes and a comb. Wait, where's the rest? Double checking the backpack, I open all its pockets. I search my clothes, it might be here somewhere. I went about every of my stuff, but it was missing. Gone... It's gone. I can't be gone. Dad I'm sorry…

My money, four kunai and the crystal was gone, stolen by them. I clench my fist. Darn it... Damn it. Damn them all to hell. Why'd they have to get that one important thing? That one memory of my father. First I lost my hat then his crystal.

I look up at the sky, to the clouds above. I take a deep breath and exhale. Getting angry won't solve anything. Inhaling and exhaling, I try to calm myself. Looking at the clouds, I wish I was one of them. Just flowing wherever wind takes.

"Hey." A voice shakes me from my daydream. It was Hayaki with Atsuro right behind him.

"Are you feeling better?" Atsuro says. "You suddenly collapsed when we were escaping."

"Sorry, I don't remember. But I'm fine now." I say.

"Brother had to carry you until we could find someplace safe to camp."

"Really." I look at Hayaki and smile. "Thank you."

"It was nothing." Hayaki looks away, rubbing the back of his neck. I see a red tint on his cheeks, and I giggle. "What's so funny?"

"You're blushing." I say, still giggling.

"You're right. He is blushing." Atsuro pokes his brother's cheek. Hayaki swats the hand, and tries to wipe the blush away.

"Well, I think it's cute when you're blushing." I say. His face turns even redder at the comment. Atsuro and I burst out laughing.

"Wh- whatever." Hayaki walks away.

"Oh don't be like that. I was only teasing."

"Yeah don't such a stinking wart ass." Says Atsuro.

Hayaki stops in his tracks. "What did you call me?"

"I said don't be such a stinking wart ass."

"You little rat." Hayaki gives his brother a sinister look. I think something terrible is going to happen. "Why are you always like this? Such a pain in the ass! Never listening to me."

"Then why don't you make me."

"You know what, I will. I'll make you stay damn right in place."

"Ooooh scary. Is that all talk and no bite big man?"

This is getting out of hand. I better stop this right now. "Guys why don't y-"

"You asked for it." Hayaki lunges at Atsuro, pinning him on the ground. He raises a fist ready to strike.

"Stop it! What are you doing?!" I run to them. What's going on? A while ago they doing were fine together.

"You're such an ass you know that!"

"Stop!" I scream, but I was too late. His fist was coming in fast. I close my eyes, readying myself for the upcoming impact. I wait for Atsuro's scream, but instead I hear, laughter? What the. I open my eyes to see Hayaki tickling his brother. I sweat drop. Those two are insane. What kind of siblings fight with such intense verbal accusation and end up laughing and tickling with each other. Those two are weird and unpredictable. This scene is just so wrong and so insane. I didn't even know what happened.

"You want some more jackass?"

"No p- please s- stop." Atsuro pleads.

"Sorry but, I still have teach you not to mess with me!" He continuous to tickle him to death. Both of them had smiles on their faces. I guess this is their way of showing love. I think. But I still think this is too extreme for showing sibling love. Well, better get used with these two boys. I think I'll have their company for a very long time.


End file.
